Lost Life
by Zoja
Summary: Now, that his dream of having his life back is coming true, everything appears to be gone forever.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I usually don't have any idea where my stories come from, but this one is probably the most surprising of it all. I mean, to get an idea for an angsty story during holidays, when you're supposed to enjoy yourself? It also didn't want to go away, scenes for it kept coming to my mind all the time and it became obvious it's not going to leave me alone until I write it. But, even though I mark it as angst, it's not the whole, completely, dark angst. It's generally not what it appears to be. This chapter is meant as a kind of introduction, and sorry if it's a little hasty. It was supposed to be a short prologue, but turned out to this size.

I also have to admit that I have no idea if the situation I used here could be at least in a smallest part possible, and I am aware that it may be not. I usually try to make my stories as realistic as I can, but this time I just don't know. If it doesn't make any sense, and it bothers someone, I can't make you read it.

Sorry for the long entry, and before I melt or fry along with my computer, I'm leaving you to the chapter.

* * *

To say that she was happy would be a huge understatement. In fact, she didn't really think it was possible for a person to be more delighted with their life, the way it turned out. She had almost everything she has ever dreamed about having one day; she had a job that gave her satisfaction, she had a group of friends, who she knew she could count on anytime, ask for whatever she needed and they would do everything in their power to help her, and she couldn't forget about Jack Hudson, who turned out to be the man from her dreams after he finally gathered the courage to admit his feelings to her.

It took him long enough, and Sue was starting to lose hope it will ever happen. She really hoped that her initial decision to leave DC, especially remembering his face expression after she informed the team about it, and then her change of mind and staying, he was going to do something, but it was stupid of her. Yes, he invited her for pizza, for a friendly 'I'm glad you stayed' night out, but that was it. As the month passed by, she found herself wondering what might have happened that day if Myles hadn't interrupted, as Jack had no idea she was staying then. She was never going to know what he had wanted to tell her.

But then, the case came, and she has been held hostage for no real reason besides standing the closest to the place, where their suspect was hiding. He has taken her and threatened to kill her if they don't fulfil his wishes. After he drove away with her in the car they gave him, then changed it on the closest petrol station knowing that there just must be the tracking device placed in it, they lost sight of them and Sue found herself spending two days locked in the damp basement, without any knowledge of what was going around. It was only when her team found the house, and they stormed inside, that she realised it was over. The first thing she noticed was a shape of a person standing in the open door, just a black figure in front of the light, with the whole equipment. After it, another shape appeared, without any armour or weapon, wearing just his casual suit – because as she later found out, he was taken off the case, although allowed to follow them there, and ran into the building unauthorised - and she didn't need to see his face to know it was Jack. He ran to her, freed her, and immediately gathered her into his arms, holding onto her for dear life. He didn't leave her side for even the shortest of moments that day, she thought he was going to punch the paramedic, when the man insisted he can't go with her in the ambulance, and if the look could kill, the nurse, who informed him that he had to leave for the night, would be dead. It was when she was released in the morning, and he took her for a breakfast date, that he admitted what he has felt during the past few days. He told her how scared he was that he might lose her, never see her again, and as he kept going he ended up opening up completely to her, throwing out everything that was spinning around in his mind, just needing to get it out.

She really wished it was all under different circumstances, but she was happy that he did that anyway. She assured him that he has nothing to worry about in their relations, because she's not going to push him away from her now that she knew what he felt. Instead of telling him how she felt, she stood closer to him, and gently placed her lips against his. She has never thought she would do something like that, and found herself reproaching herself in her mind, when she felt him stand still in front of her. Realising that she has just made a fool of herself, she decided to move away and possibly run away as fast as possible, but when her face moved barely millimetres from his, she felt his hand come to the back of her neck, holding her against himself, while his lips were back against hers. She always considered the kiss at Calahan and Merced to be amazing, but it was absolutely nothing in comparison to what he made her feel like in that moment. Maybe it was the awareness that this is not the undercover kiss, just a real one, shared out of love, but she found herself melting into his arms, completely lost in the sensations it was sending through her body. The love in his eyes, the smile on his face, when they moved away from each other completely breathless, the feeling of his hand catching hers, it all made everything that could prevent her from being with him stop mattering.

It was the beginning of the year, which she thought was the best one in her life. The year of pure happiness and bliss, disturbed only by the necessity to hide it all from the world, and especially from the FBI. They didn't even tell their families or friends about their relationship; the only two people knowing were Lucy and Bobby. It was absolutely impossible to hide it from Sue's roommate if they wanted to spend some time together after work – and of course they did, and Bobby just happened to disclose them, when they came back from their dinner to Jack's apartment, when Crash came to his friend to watch the game with him. He witnessed enough to know what was going on, but sworn to keep everything secret and even provided a cover for Jack a few times. They were lucky, and even if they knew that they can't just go on like that forever, they were happy to stay this way for a little longer. Yet, the opportunity wasn't really given to them.

They had absolutely no idea how it could have happened, but they were discovered. They were surprised when D. stormed into the bullpen requesting their presence in his office, looking furious. They exchanged glances and followed him to find another person, much more important in the whole FBI chain of command. When they entered, the man crossed his arms at his chest and allowed Dimitrius to give them the whole lecture about the non-fraternization rule, then handed them a set of pictures. They couldn't believe their eyes when they noticed themselves during one of their evening walks in the park, holding hands, sitting on the bench and holding each other, kissing. Agent Marks gave them no doubts that there were going to be consequences, and informed them that until the higher-ups will decide what to do with them, they're going to be on leaves. They didn't object, knowing that in fact, they could be both already fired.

"How could the two of you do this to me?" asked D., when the man left the three of them in the office alone. "I thought that despite being your supervisor, I am still your friend! Still the same guy, who watched the soap opera you were performing for four years, hoping that one day you will finally see what is right in front of you, before it is too late!"

"We wanted to enjoy being together without worrying about the whole rule, and one of us having to transfer..." started Jack, and D. silenced him.

"That's another thing you could tell me. I would have understood! I would have at least known and could tell the guy that yes, they were here, they informed me about everything. It's just that I had a lot of work and couldn't really focus on it, yet. But no, you had to leave me completely out of the picture and now I can't do anything but follow the orders I get! I will have to fire both of you if that's what they will tell me to do!"

They knew that he was right. Despite the promotion and being a supervisor, Dimitrius never showed any sign of treating them differently. Yes, he acted like the boss when it was needed, but most of the time he was still the old D., who they worked with for a long time, their good friend. They could see in his eyes that they have let him down, but there was nothing they could do to change it now. The rest of the team was surprised, if not about their relationship, because that's something they admitted to suspecting all along because of the change in the tension between them, then about them being discovered. They all knew what it meant for them, and were almost as worried as Jack and Sue.

It took them few days to get to know the decision, and even though it could be seen as a very nice one for them, they just couldn't like it. They were both allowed to stay in the FBI on one condition – Jack is going to agree to be a part of the undercover operation he earlier refused. He didn't want to go on it; it was a very undercover, highly dangerous and meant absolutely no contact with anyone for six month to a year time. He didn't want to leave for such a long time; it could pay him in the future but now, that he had Sue and the life he always dreamed about, he really wasn't eager to go there. Yet, after the long, honest talk they had with each other, he found himself agreeing to go. He really didn't like it, he was actually ready to refuse again, but the decision they made together was the opposite, and it mattered much more.

They didn't expect it to be so soon, but they were informed he was going to leave in two weeks. Knowing that he isn't going to see her for a very long time, he was adamant to spend the whole fourteen days with her, making as much out of them as only possible. He didn't plan it earlier, but in the middle of the first week he bought a ring for her and proposed. He wanted her to know that no matter for how long he was going to be away, he wanted to be with her forever. He also saw the ring as the proof of his commitment she was going to have, and as much as deeply in his heart he didn't believe she was going to say no, he didn't expect her to not only say yes, but suggest to have a small, quick wedding before he goes away.

"I want the world to know that what we have is real, serious... Yes, being engaged is a sign of seeing the future together, but it's like one day we are engaged and another we can just finish it... Being married means... more... I probably sound ridiculous, and you must be thinking I want to marry you out of the want to have you marked in case another woman wants you..."

He didn't see it this way, but he wasn't completely convinced it was a good idea, because he could after all, get into a very dangerous situation and everything would be changed. He didn't want her to regret this decision after his return, but for Sue, there was nothing that could change her mind about being with her. She was the kind of person, who would be with her loved one forever no matter what, and this awareness made him allow his heart to influence his decision and agree. The only people to be present at the 'ceremony' were their friends; it was out of question for them that they will give their families and others the opportunity to witness it, but under different circumstances. They still had a week together in front of them, but no matter how hard they tried to pretend not to think about it, it was inevitable for it to end.

His plane was leaving in the morning and he was woken up very early by the alarm. He was able to prevent Levi from waking Sue, and even though he later had to hurry to be ready on time, he found himself lying in bed a little longer, with Sue in his arms, trying to memorize every smallest detail. It practically broke his heart, but he just couldn't make himself wake her up. He sat at the edge of the bed, and placed a kiss on her head with tears in his eyes, whispering to her just how much he loved her even though he knew that she wasn't going to hear him even subconsciously. He left the apartment, and only when he was sitting in the private plane, with nobody around, he allowed his emotions to get out, as well as his tears to fall. He had no idea that it was around the same time, when she woke up to find him gone, even though he agreed for her to take him to the airport. She couldn't be angry at him, and she only hugged his pillow tightly to herself and cried, suffering because of the lack of chance to even say goodbye to him.

It was, however, nothing in comparison to what she felt when two agents arrived at the apartment half a year later, to inform her that the status of everybody, who had anything to do with the assignment was unknown, due to the explosion, but there was a very small possibility that anyone came out of it alive.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** It's not exactly how I had this chapter pictured in my head but it just didn't want to work in the original way, so I approached it from the exactly opposite side. Hmm, well... I guess the only thing I can do is to leave you to it and hope you're not going to hate me very much.

* * *

Even though the plane's speed was big, from the inside it felt like it was very slowly moving through the air towards its destination. When people looked through the window they felt like it was not moving at all. But it was, and the flight was slowly getting to an end. It was a reason to be happy, yet there was a person on the board, who next to happiness, felt a nervousness, which was increasing with every passing minute.

He sat comfortably next to the window, but didn't look through it at all. His focus was fully concentrated on the picture he was holding in his hands. It was a photograph he always had with himself, hidden in the inside pocket of his jacket or somewhere behind cards in his wallet. It was always there, in the place, where it wasn't very accessible for everyone, but where he could always reach and get it out. It wasn't big, so it wasn't so difficult for it to go unnoticed. It showed one person, who he didn't even had a real chance to meet, to see for real not only on the paper. A baby, dressed in a pink romper and a matching hat, her big, brown eyes, glued to the person, who was taking the picture. He has never thought it was actually possible, but he could feel love warm his heart every time he was looking at the girl, and it didn't matter that he only knew about her thanks to this picture, that he has never seen or held her in his arms, that he had even no idea what her mother has named her. She was his daughter, his own flesh and blood, and from what he could judge by this picture, their relatedness was quite visible in the child's features.

She also happened to be yet another huge reason why he has never given up on his hope of coming home. If he had listened to his mind, he would have lost it a long time ago. But he didn't, and it was still there, all the time, even though the chance of it coming true was getting smaller with every passing day, turning into weeks, months. This hope, this dream of coming home and seeing his loved ones again was the only reason that kept him going, that made him get up from bed in the morning instead of getting lost in the sadness, that he can't be there, with them. And now, that he was on the plane going to them, he was nervous.

It's been much longer than either of them suspected it could be, and he knew that his return would be quite a surprise for everyone, who knew him. He was perfectly aware that for the past months he was thought to be very possibly dead. He was sure that after such a long time, and his lack of showing up alive, they all assumed he has indeed died in this explosion and he couldn't blame anyone for thinking this way. It was most probably based on the assumption that if he survived, he would come back home and show that he's as fine as it was possible at the time. No matter how much he wished he could do that, he couldn't, so he also didn't.

"So, this is who is on your mind, when you have this dreamy expression on your face, and your mind is far away." voice of Steve, the man, who became the closest thing to a friend he had, got him out of his thoughts. "Well, this little one and her mommy. I'm never going to understand how you've managed to keep this picture from me. Anyway, just give it few hours and you're going to see them."

"I can't wait..." he said and sighed, earning a surprised look with raised eyebrows.

"You don't really sound convincing, you know?"

"What if she doesn't want to see me?" he asked, and Steve's eyebrows only moved a little higher. "What if she got to terms that I am not going to come back to her, and decided to forget about us and move on? What if she is in a relationship with someone, who is also a daddy to our little girl, and by showing up I'm going to make all of this only bigger mess for her than it already is..?"

"Well, you can stay out of the picture, ask for a new identity, and move to another city, start a new life... But is it what you want?"

"No, it's not... In fact, it's the exact contrary of what I want. There is nothing I wouldn't give to have my life back... Still, I am aware that getting it all back isn't going to be so easy, and to be honest, I am scared of it..."

"I am not saying that you're not going to have to fight for it, but I think it's worth it, isn't it? Your wife may have moved on, but if she's anything like you spoke about her, there is still going to be love for you somewhere deep in her hear, even if she may not be entirely aware of it. And when it comes to your daughter, you deserve to be a part of her life just as much as she deserves to have a daddy, her real daddy. So even if it turns out there is another guy in their lives, fight for them. It may seem hopeless at the beginning, but in the end it may turn out to make your relationship even stronger."

It was Jack's turn to look at Steve with a surprise in his eyes; he has never suspected this man capable of giving such deep lectures. Hudson had no idea that in the upcoming weeks he was going to cling to those words very much, because they would give him the strength not to give up.

Hours later he found himself standing in front of the building where he has been living for quite a few years. He knew Sue was still living in his apartment, or theirs, as it should be called. He felt like his stomach was squeezed tightly, and he was looking at the windows of the apartment for a long while, trying to gather the courage to go there. It was more difficult than he thought it would be, and even though he felt like chickening out, he knew that he couldn't do it. He definitely cared about them too much to allow himself to be a coward and walk away.

"Sparky..?" his heart jumped, when he heard his old nickname in a very familiar voice with Australian accent, and he was sure that if his hands weren't hidden in his pocket, they would be shaking quite much right now. He slowly turned around to see the tall figure of his best friend, the man's blue eyes were widened in shock but a huge smile was gracing his lips. "It's really you! You're alive, Mate!" before he was able to even think of it, Jack found himself wrapped in a tight bear-hug, barely able to breathe. It felt like an eternity before Bobby released him, grinning from ear to ear, his hands going to rest on Jack's shoulders, gripping him tightly and shaking him a little with his every word. "I don't think I've ever been so happy to see anyone! I thought I'm never going to see you again, we all thought you were dead!"

"I know..." only in this moment it struck Manning just how still his friend seemed. Of course, he wasn't exactly the person Sparky wanted to see the most, but he seemed distant, completely indifferent to their meeting at all. It was then that he started to wonder, how much has Jack changed, how much this whole experience affected him. There was no doubts that it had to, the question was only how.

"Why are you standing here, instead of going to her?" asked Bobby, watching his friend curiously and he could see uncertainty in his eyes.

He nodded to himself – of course, Jack wouldn't be sure if it's such a good idea. In fact, Bobby was a little afraid of Sue's reaction as well, but he definitely wasn't going to tell it to the brunet. He knew that no matter how much their lives changed, he had a very big reason to go upstairs and make it known to the woman that he's alive. Maybe not a reason big in size, but definitely very meaningful one; a cute, adorable, dark-haired and brown-eyed reason, who was able to capture everyone's heart with a single smile, which she inherited from her dad as well with no doubts.

"It's still early morning, she's probably asleep..."

"Well, my presence here is definitely an evidence that she isn't. She's up, preparing to go to the morning mass, and Uncle Bobby came here with his weekly visit to babysit." he said before he was able to bite his tongue and the smile faded from his face. It suddenly struck him that Hudson probably has no idea about the little angel, so the mention of babysitting could take him aback, but he didn't notice that. Actually, he noticed the man nod his head slightly, and started to wonder if the man listened to him or was just trying to show him that he has his attention, while in reality he didn't have it.

"What's her name?" he heard a moment later, when Jack's head turned to him and the man really looked at his friend for the first time. "Our daughter's..."

"Emily." Bobby couldn't hide the surprise in his voice, but still a weight was lifted from his heart that the man was aware of the girl's existence. "Emily Jackie Hudson."

"Emily..." repeated Jack, his voice barely audible and Bobby could swear he saw tears glistening in the shorter man's eyes for a moment.

He didn't know why Sue was so insistent on using this one for the first name for her baby girl since the moment she got to know she was having a daughter. How could he know that she remembered very well the talk they had just after they got engaged, when Jack mentioned that it was a name he always thought of giving to his daughter if he would have one. The choice of girl's middle name was quite obvious, nobody had any doubts that it came out of Sue's want to connect her to Jack somehow.

"Shall we actually go to the apartment..?"

"Yes, we should."

Jack could feel his heart batter in his chest, when he followed his friend and then stood in front of the door to the apartment he knew so well. He was standing in front of the door so many times, but he has never been even half as nervous as now. All his worries seemed to come at him at once, attacking him from everywhere and it really wasn't giving him any much needed courage to face his wife. How Sue was going to react at the news of him being back? She had every right to be angry at him, hate him even, but after knowing her for quite some time he just couldn't picture hatred in her. He didn't really expect her to throw herself at him, magically forget about the time they spent apart and settle back to what it was back then.

What he did found, however, was something he hoped was only going to remain one of his darkest imaginations, and when he actually realised what he was getting himself into, he was wondering if he wouldn't do better for the sake of her good opinion of him if he decided to remain just an observer.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Thanks for those, who decided to give this story a try... Well, I can only hope you are not going to hate/kill me after this chapter... It wasn't easy to write for me... Just in case, I want to remind that it's just the beginning of the story, and there is still quite a way to go. Well, enjoy.

* * *

Sue glanced at the clock impatiently, wondering where Bobby was. She really had to leave soon, but she couldn't leave Emily alone, while taking her had absolutely no sense. Bobby was always there by this hour, not even once he was late, and she didn't know what was happening. She checked her Blackberry and there was no message or unanswered call; she knew he would have called her if something suddenly turned up. Was it possible that something happened to him?

She jumped when Levi nudged her with his nose to get her attention and ran to the door, and she sighed with relief, knowing that her friend was okay and he just had to be stopped by something. She didn't know this something was not only a person, but also her - believed to be dead -husband.

Her eyes widened in shock when she opened the door to see Manning's company. She was staring at him, completely not knowing what she should say or do thanks to the mix of different emotions. He was really the last person she expected to see there, especially now. She was clinging to the hope that he will come back for a very long time, probably much longer than anyone else on her place would, but as the time passed, it was slowly being replaced by the realisation that he wasn't coming back. It was difficult to accept it, but the pain was slowly subsiding and she believed that she could safely say she finally came to terms with it. And there he was, showing up, obviously alive, waking up all those mixed feelings inside her. Because of them she wasn't even able to determine how she actually felt about this whole situation.

Jack was staring at her, too. Yet, for him it was a completely different experience than for her. He has been thinking about this moment every day, it was something, what kept him going and now it was finally taking place. He had to fight very hard with himself in order not to wrap his arms around her to hug her, what was his first impulse. He knew he couldn't do that, and the expression on her face only reassured him in this conviction. Still, he couldn't take his eyes off her face; yes, she has changed a little, just like anyone would expect after such a long time, but she still looked like here remembered her. She was still the most beautiful person he has ever seen, and the shortest glance of her hazel eyes was able to make his heart crazy.

Bobby stood there for a moment, watching the two with a worry. Even though it wasn't exactly in her style, he was a little afraid that Sue may lose it and explode. He knew that even if she wasn't showing it, deep down in her heart she would feel hurt. He witnessed her explosions influenced by sudden wave of emotions a few times after the infamous day of being informed of Jack's possible fate, all of then connected to his person, and he was scared there may be another one. He sighed with relief, when he noticed her just stare at the man, and then waved his hand to get her attention.

"Isn't it going to be a little better if we go inside?" he suggested, and Sue nodded, moving to the side so the two men could enter.

Manning stepped inside without hesitation, in the contrary to Jack. Hudson felt a sudden wave of uncertainty if he should, especially that he was unable to judge how Sue felt about his unexpected appearance. He believed that just showing up like this wasn't the best way to announce his return to Sue, and he asked Bobby if it wasn't going to be better to prepare her for it, but Crash wasn't very eager to agree. He can't help but think that both – or maybe three – of them must feel awkward and he was really starting to wonder if it was a good idea after all. But there was no way out now and he had to face it.

"Sorry for being late, Sue, but you probably understand that after I saw him on the opposite side of the street, I had to check if it's something with my eyes or it's really him."

"Yeah, of course..." Sue managed to get out and the silence fell again.

It was way more uncomfortable than any of them imagined it could be. They were just standing there, looking at each other for a moment until the silence was broken by another voice, quiet and sleepy one.

"Mommy..?"

Jack's eyes immediately moved to the direction it came from and they fell on the little girl, standing in the door to what used to be a room used only to store all those things he didn't really know where to put but needed to keep. Her hair was in a mess around her head, her eyes showing that she must have just woken up, just like the fact that she was in her pyjamas. For the shortest of moments the man looked at the teddy bear she was holding, but then moved to her face again. He let out a breath, feeling warmth spread through his whole body, and his eyes filled with tears. It was like the time freeze for him, and everyone besides the girl stopped existing. There she was, his daughter, the person he craved so much to meet.

Sue noticed the change in him, and even though she couldn't hear it, she realised that Emily must be standing behind her before Levi came to inform her of her presence. She felt her heart clench with worry, but the expression in Jack's eyes eased it, and she realised that he must have known. This realisation, however, made the fear go away and be replaced by another bit of anger; she thought he would see Emily – if not her - as the reason to come back, that he'd think that at least the girl deserves to have him in her life.

"Good morning little Sheila." said Bobby to the child, when she approached them. She didn't really notice that one of the men standing with her mom was her uncle, and a smile appeared on her face the moment she looked up and realised it was him.

"Hi Uncle Bobby!" she said, and then her eyes moved to his companion. It was only when he caught himself staring at the pair of curious, brown eyes, that Jack was gotten out of his trance. "Who is it?" she asked, turning her head to look at her mother.

Sue opened her mouth, not really knowing what she should tell the girl, but before she was able to say anything, Jack crouched in front of her with a small smile.

"I'm Jack." he said, extending his hand. He glanced at Sue, and noticed her give a small nod to Emily, before she looked back at her father and took his hand with a shy "Hi.".

He shook her hand before she moved away and stopped slightly behind Sue, who cleared her throat.

"Um, well... I have to leave now... You're going to be fine, right?" she asked, looking at Bobby and the man raised his eyebrows.

"Of course, Sue, I'm not always fine with our little star." he grinned and went straight to the girl, lifting her up and took her to another room, swirling her slightly around, making her squeal happily.

"I know you may not feel like you want to, but I think that we actually _should_ talk..." stated Jack, carefully, trying to judge the woman's feelings and after a moment Sue nodded, her face showing that she really didn't feel completely fine with it.

"I really need to go now if I don't want to be late... But we could talk on the way, if you accompanied me..."

"Sure."

They left the apartment and then the building in silence, and for a while they didn't spoke a word as they were walking towards the church. Sue didn't seem eager to open any conversation between them, she didn't really know what she could say. It was Jack, who insisted they should talk, and even though she couldn't disagree with him, she felt like he should be the one talking. If they were to talk, he was the one, who had the explaining to do.

"I know that this is all kind of... unexpected..." he finally said, and all he get in response was a nod, confirmation that he had her attention. "It wasn't supposed to look like this and... I can't expect everything will be back to how it used to be before I left..." he winced at the thought, that it sounded like he disappeared from her life willingly, like he decided that 'them' is not what he wanted and made the decision to abandon her. "I understand you are angry, you have every right to hate me, and don't want me back in your life... I would stay away if this was what you wanted, but Emily... I want to get to know her, to try to form a bond with her, and maybe one day be the dad she should have..."

"You are her father and I can not keep her away from you..." she said, when she realised that he was waiting for a response from her. "But if you hurt her..."

"I won't." he said immediately, having no doubts what was on her mind "I am back, and I am not going anywhere. It's not like I left very willingly those three years ago. Let me remind you that I gave any consideration to leaving only because you suggested that it may not be such a bad idea to go to this mission."

"So you want to put the blame, that you were away, on me?" she snorted, stopping where she was standing, feeling everything boil inside her. "Let _me_ remind _you_, that you had a choice, Jack! You could have gotten home half a year after going away, but you decided to not to come back, not to give any sign that you are alive to any of us! I saw the way you looked at Emily in the apartment, you knew about her but you still decided to stay away! And now you show up and expect that everything will be fine?"

"I do _not_ expect everything to be the way it was back then. I would be an idiot if I did. The only thing I expected was for you to give me a chance to show you that I care!"

"I waited for you to show this to me for over a year! Over a year of clinging to the ridiculous hope that you will show up on my doorstep, explain everything to me and..." she took a deep breath, trying to regain composure. "As I said, I can't keep Emily away from you, but that's it. It may have taken me some time but I moved on. And now, if you excuse me, I really have to keep going."

She walked away quickly, not looking back and Jack wasn't able to stop a groan that left his throat. He leaned against the wall of the building behind him, closing his eyes. He had to admit he didn't imagine it could ever look this way between them, or even feel this uncomfortable. He really didn't think their relationship could change from the very close one to something like this. He didn't think Sue would have such a cold attitude towards him and it was probably what pained him the most. It was all worse than he could imagine, and he was now aware that it was going to be way more difficult for him to even warm her feelings for him, not mentioning to have her back as his wife. Because, with him being alive, she was still his wife, wasn't she?

and Jack had to admit that he has never thought it could be _that_ uncomfortable between them. Of course, it was expected to not be the way it was, but he didn't think it would all change to this extend. Sue was completely cold towards him and he felt like she would rather completely ignore him, if she wasn't aware that she couldn't really do that.


	4. Chapter 4

This question – along with a lot of others – kept swirling around Jack's head for a few more days before he finally decided to ask someone, who could actually know the answer for it. He was a lawyer himself, but not only was he out of practice when it came to law, he also has never really been interested in civil regulations; he was always more drawn to the criminal branch. But there were few of his friends, and because he didn't feel really comfortable to talk about it with someone, who he didn't know, he decided to pay a visit to the guy, who lived in DC. To say that the man was surprised was a huge understatement and he choked on his coffee the moment Jack walked into his office.

Jack wasn't surprised; in fact, he was getting quite used to getting a reaction like this when visiting someone for the first time after coming back. It was depressing how fast the news about somebody's death was spreading in comparison to how difficult it was to inform everyone that it wasn't true. He didn't even think of calling everyone just to let them know he was alive; the only people he called were his parents and his brother. They were the three people, who next to Sue and Emily, were the most important people in his live and deserved to be informed about everything directly from him. His mother started crying the moment he said "Hi Mom." to the phone, just after she answered it; it made his father come to her immediately and he could hear the man's voice shaking on the line as they were talking. His brother was absolutely speechless for a longer moment, and only when his wife started shouting to him he remembered his voice and talked to him for a moment, unable to believe that his little brother was indeed calling him. None of them had any doubts that it was him, they all recognised him without problems on the line.

He sat in the chair on the opposite side of the desk, and after answering a few questions himself, he got to the reason why he was there. His friend listened to him, getting more and more shocked as Jack was continuing his story. Of course, he didn't see the news that Jack got married coming either, and goggled at him like he was crazy. But, after a moment of listening to Jack's dreamy babbling about the mysterious Sue, he was able to see that the man was indeed hopelessly in love with this woman, and he found it easy to believe it was true.

"Honestly, I don't really know, Jack..." admitted Anthony, looking at his friend. "I've never had a situation like this, I believe not a lot of the lawyers can say that they had... You were assumed dead, so there was no need for her to fill for the divorce, as the marriage was finished with your death and she was legally a widow... It can mean that now, that you are alive, the two of you are still married because your marriage has never been terminated. On the other hand, she could have gotten married over this time you were gone, because she had a legal right to do so, and she could hardly be accused of bigamy after your return, because you were technically dead for the world..."

"Anthony, I am aware that this is a complicated situation, I wouldn't come to you if it wasn't, because I would probably know the answer. I need to know what I'm standing on."

"Of course, I understand. But I can't tell you right now, and I'm afraid that checking the laws is not going to help me this time... I don't think it's actually regulated anywhere... But I promise you that I will find out, and I'll let you know, okay? I have a very important trial coming, and I am quite busy right now, but the moment I can, I'll look this up."

Jack could agree to it, in fact, he was in absolutely no hurry. And even though he really needed to know this little bit of information, because it was important, he was also a little afraid. He really hoped that according to the law, they were still married; he could be called selfish, but one thing he was sure about was that marrying Sue was the best decision in his life, and he knew that they could really be happy with each other. He loved her, he never stopped thinking or dreaming about her, and wasn't sure if he would ever be able to. And the fact that she didn't feel the same anymore pained him with a double power. He wanted to have her back, and no matter what it was going to take, he intended to fight for her.

He didn't talk to her since their infamous walk, and he thought it would be better if he gave her some time to adjust to the idea of him being back. He had no idea that he wasn't the only one thinking about all the consequences it was going to bring, and it was constantly on Sue's mind. But, first of all, she was thinking about the fact that no matter how she felt, she had to think about Emily and it was a fact that the girl deserved to have a father, not only a father figure, in her life. But it meant that he would have to be present in her life as well, because there was no way their daughter would be fine with spending time with him alone, when she practically didn't know him. Later, when Emily would adjust to him, feel comfortable around him, their contacts could be really limited but at the beginning it was impossible, and she was afraid of it.

It was, actually, and understatement. She was horrified by the idea of Jack being present around her again because she knew that he still had his place deep down in her heart, and most probably, he was always going to keep it. Their relationship, all the feelings they shared, has been very strong and she did, after all, marry him, and she would have never even considered it if she hadn't believed that they're meant for each other. The happiness, relief and other positive feelings she felt at the sight of him – even if completely repressed by those negative ones – showed her that no matter how convinced she was that she has moved on, it was hardly true. She didn't really have time to give it much thinking that day, but at night she found herself lying restless in bed and thinking, how could it all look like if the past was different. It hurt horribly, when she was thinking that most probably, they would be a very happy little family, she would feel like the happiest woman in the world and Emily would be their everything. Even if deep in her heart she yearned for it, she knew that it wasn't going to happen. He broke her heart, and she really wasn't eager to give him her complete trust once again. Still, she was afraid that his company around her may wake up all the feelings she put to rest, and she couldn't let it happen. She wouldn't be fair to her promise, but she also wouldn't be fair to Trevor.

She has met the man almost half a year after she made the decision to stop clinging to what could have been, and start living with the presence. He didn't really hide his interest in her, and even though it was scaring her, she decided to follow Lucy's advice and give it a chance, for the sake of moving on. Her hesitation didn't skip his attention, but after he found out the reason behind it, he was very understanding. And, as the time was passing, she found herself enjoying his company more and more, and didn't even know when the bond between them formed. She was more horrified than she was willing to admit, but she decided to try to be in a relationship with him and, as for now, it was great. It would be way better if Emily tried to accept him, but it quickly became obvious that the girl wasn't eager to even consider it. Sue had no idea why, but she just wasn't willing to get to know him better, and made a huge scene every time Sue wanted to take her to spend some time together with her and Trevor. It was the main reason why she was grateful the man wasn't eager to rush into something really serious, as he even admitted to her; but she wasn't willing to do it either. And now, with Jack being back, she knew that there was no way that it wouldn't affect her relations with Trevor.

She has never thought to mention the possibility of Jack's return to him, so she had absolutely no way of knowing how he was going to feel about it. She didn't think he should mind, because she really didn't think about coming back to Jack, and he could hardly be angry at her for allowing him to be in their daughter's life. Yet, the long forgotten words of David Palmer came back to her. She remembered the moment he said them, and couldn't even bring herself to deny them. It was during their last meeting, before he left for Los Angeles, and even though she was willing to give a long-distance relationship a go, he decided to end things between them. '_How can it work with so many miles between us, if it's fated to fail anyway? You are never going to be able to give your whole heart to any man, not only to me, unless it's going to be Jack Hudson. I saw the two of you together and the attraction, the bond you two share is... undeniable. No matter how hard you're going to try and repress all the feelings you have for him, there is always going to be at least a tiny bit of your heart, which would belong to him. I have no way of knowing if I'm right, but I think the two of you have a really huge chance that this is this one, true love everybody is waiting for. And, as someone who deeply cares for you, I hope you're not going to waste it._'.

The solution to her fears came from the person she didn't really expect to give it to her, but she decided that maybe she should have. It was Bobby, who suggested, that at least for the beginning, he can share the Sunday mornings he was spending with Emily, with Jack. Manning seemed to be the person, who stood directly in the middle of them, and understood both sides. He couldn't blame Sue for feeling hurt and angry, and for all her doubts, but he also thought that Jack deserved to be given a chance, if not to get her back, then to at least get to know his own daughter. All the other people besides him seemed to be leaning towards one or the other's side, but not Bobby and both of them could be really grateful for the presence of this man, and for the close relationship he shared with them.

"Thank you." said Jack, almost with tears in his eyes, when Bobby came to his hotel room, the place where he decided to stay until finding a new apartment, to inform him about this.

"You have no reason to thank me, Sparks. It's the right thing to do, especially for Emily but also for you and Sue. Because if I can tell you something - no matter what she says, no matter how much time she spends with this Trevor guy, you are the only guy, who can make her happy. And I'd have to be blind not to see how miserable you are now. Damn, you have your wedding ring still on your finger! It's like shouting to the whole world that she's the one even if she doesn't want you, and nobody else stands a chance."

"Well, that's true... I've never stopped wearing it and I'm not sure if I could bring myself to taking it off..." said Jack, looking at the gold band on his finger and only moved his eyes back up, when he felt his friend's hand on his shoulder.

"You screwed up Jack, and Sue is right to feel the way she does. You're going to have to bend over backwards and even more to fix it, but I believe you are able to do it."

Hudson smiled, the tears finally making their way to his eyes after threatening to do so for a moment. He has never felt more grateful than in that moment to have such a great friend as Bobby Manning.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** I can't help but think that this chapter is a little ridiculous, but at the same time gives a small break from all the angsty stuff. I hope you're going to like it.

* * *

Patience. He was aware he was going to need patience, quite a lot of it even. It didn't matter that he was Emily's biological father, that he loved her and that he really wanted to be present in her life, not only in her DNA. The girl didn't know him at all, he meant for her as much as a stranger on the street, and there was no doubts it was going to take a while before she'd be even comfortable around him, not to mention treat him like a dad. He knew all of it, and yet, when the Sunday came and he came with Bobby to see her, he felt frustrated. Frustrated, and as ridiculously as it was only possible, horribly jealous about Crash.

He admitted to Jack, that after Hudson was assumed dead, he felt obliged to take care of his wife and daughter as his best friend and later also Emily's godfather. He has always been friends with Sue, but she became like a sister to him, and Emily – he knew that the girl needed a father, at least a father's figure and he was ready to be it for her. Jack was grateful for his friend that he took this role, he wouldn't want anyone different to take care of his family – unless it was another one of his close friends, but his first choice would always be Bobby. Still, he had a huge heartache watching Manning with Emily, who really adored her uncle. It should be him bringing a huge smile to her face with the simplest of visits, know exactly what to say or do to make her laugh or calm down and be the person she was running to when something was wrong. But the only thing he got from her was a quiet, shy "Hi.", and later he felt like he didn't exist at all.

Even though he was focusing very hard not to show his emotions, and succeeding, Bobby could read his emotions perfectly. Even though at first sight he seemed completely indifferent, his eyes betrayed him completely, just like they always did. There has never been a time, when just a single look into his eyes wasn't enough for a person to judge what he felt, no matter what he claimed. Crash could only guess how it was hurting and he tried to find a way to make Emily open to Jack. He knew the girl well enough to know that she was not going to go to him by herself, that someone had to encourage her to do it. She was shy, but all she needed to open was to see that the person is eager to get to know her, and finding a few situations for her to go to Jack instead of someone else would probably be enough for her to try to find a contact with him. He couldn't see the scenario, which it would turn out difficult in, because Sparky was more than willing to spend time and play with her. And then, finally, the chance appeared.

They both heard the short scream and then the sound of footsteps, moving quickly towards them and the girl ran into the living room, where the two men were sitting and ran to Bobby. She looked at him with huge, scared eyes and trembling lip.

"Uncle Bobby, a spider! Take it, take it!"

He was about to stand up and go with the girl, when he got enlightened. Instead of his original intention, he faked shifting uncomfortably in the armchair and made an uncertain face, trying to fake fear.

"Ugh... A spider..? Is it big?" the girl nodded and he could see Jack looking at him with a questioning look and raised eyebrows. He knew perfectly well Emily would confirm it was huge, even if it was the smallest one existing, and it gave him the opportunity to wince a little more. "Maybe you should ask Jack to take care of it? You mustn't tell anyone, but I'm afraid of spiders." the last part he said in a loud whisper; quiet enough to give the impression of it being a secret, but loud enough for Jack to hear.

The surprise in Hudson's eyes only raised, but then Emily turned around to glance at him with uncertainty in her eyes, and Crash sent him a look that made everything fall into place. He nodded his head slightly with thanks, and watched the girl slowly approach him.

"Jack, umm..."

"You want me to take this big, bad spider away?" he asked, watching her play with her shirt and she raised her head to look at him.

"Mhm." she hummed, nodding her head and Jack stood up.

"Okay, let's go. Show me where it is."

She led him to her room and he looked around in amazement at how much the space has changed since the last time he was there. He remembered the room as the only not renewed one, because he just didn't really need it, and when he finally started storing things there, the room didn't need to be done. Now it was not only renovated, but absolutely beautiful. It wasn't whole in pink like all the little girls' rooms – and how he actually expected; the walls were light green, the furniture light brown, and there were colourful decorations – kept in light, pastel colours - everywhere, but everything matched each other very well. In fact, the only thing that really was getting the attention of the person coming into the room was a huge, plush kangaroo standing next to the bed. Jack smiled, when his eyes landed on it and had no doubts that only his best friend could give the girl such a toy, which was in fact taller than Emily herself.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt the gentle tugging on the sleeve of his shirt and looked down to find his daughter looking at him, with a mix of small fear and shyness in her eyes. She pointed to the opposite wall, just next to the bed and he noticed a small, black dot moving there. Only when he came closer he noticed that it was indeed a spider, however its size definitely couldn't be described as big. Yes, it wasn't tiny but it still wasn't big, and it had to have a really bad luck that it didn't go unnoticed by Emily. The girl was watching him carefully, as he took it onto his hand – commenting it with a loud "Eeew!" – and opened the window to place it onto the wall outside, and closed it when the spider walked off his hand.

"Mommy flaps it." she said in the voice that suggested that Jack took a lot of unneeded effort to get rid of it, and he smiled.

He could imagine it was exactly what Sue was doing, probably looking ridiculous trying to reach it, while staying as far away from it as possible. He smiled at the memory of the scene she made, when she found a spider walking on the wall in the shower as she was taking one. He couldn't say that one was actually small, but her panic was still a huge exaggeration. He could still hear her terrified squeal, and how high her voice was when he got into the bathroom to check what was going on. He sighed, remembering how he got a thank you kiss after taking care of it and was brought back to reality hearing the sound of the key being turned in the door, and his eyes landed on nobody other but Sue, when he looked up.

"Hi." he said, offering a smile and was answered with a nod.

"Hi." she only said and then her attention was turned to Emily, who ran to greet her and start babbling to her.

She started to tell Sue what they were doing and he couldn't help but felt proud, when she made the small event with his participation sound like something very huge. Sue, on the other hand, looked at Bobby with amazement when Emily didn't forget to mention how scared he was, and Jack could swear he has never seen his friend blush so deeply. They soon said their goodbyes, and left the apartment together.

"You owe me, Sparky. Emily is going to repeat it to everyone and I'm going to be teased about it forever."

"Sure. And thanks for it."

"What aren't you going to do for a friend, right? If it helps you, I'll survive."

They didn't really pay attention to the man, who got out of the car on the opposite side of the street just when they walked out of the building. He was staring at them, or more precisely, at Jack. His first thought was that his eyes were deceiving him – the resemblance between the man and his girlfriend's child was striking. Was it possible he was looking at the girl's father? Of course, it was – he remembered Sue's answer to his question if Emily's dad was dead, and she couldn't say for sure because they've never really found an evidence that he died, just like they haven't found the proof of him being alive. And, the longer he was thinking of it, he was becoming more sure that it really had to be this man.

He realised that it had to be the thing, which was spinning around in Sue's head, making her so lost in thoughts lately. He has been on a business trip for the last three weeks and he could remember how different she sounded when he called her few days ago. When he asked what was bothering her, she only said it wasn't something she wanted to discuss over the phone and now, that he guessed what it was, he had to agree with her.

"He's her father and I have no right to keep the two of them away from each other." she said, after she explained the whole situation to him, answering his question of what Jack was doing at her place with Bobby. "Besides, Emily deserves to have a dad, and who can be better than the real one?"

Trevor had to agree with her. If the man wanted to be a daddy for Emily, there was no way anyone could be better suited for this role. And, most certainly, not him, considering that he was one of those very few people, who it was obvious the girl didn't like. He never really knew what was the reason for it, and he was probably never going to find out. It was like that since the beginning and for some time he fought hard to change it, but stopped after there were absolutely no results, and no hope for them either. Yet, Jack's presence in their lives was worrying him. He could see in Sue's eyes the answer to his unspoken question how she felt about it all, keeping Emily aside. He had no doubts that she was adamant of staying as far away from the man as it was possible, but if he would be able to win the girl's heart and be accepted by her as her dad, it would be very difficult for her to avoid him. And it was scaring Trevor, because he knew that even though she was in relationship with him, and wasn't eager to return to Jack, it would give him this huge advantage of Emily's obvious preference. Nobody had any doubts that there was nothing more important for Sue than her daughter, and it would definitely make her look at Hudson in a more positive light.

"Trev? You do understand it, right?" she asked, and only after a moment he realised that she was asking him about allowing Emily contact with her dad.

"Of course." he wasn't lying. He did understand it, he just didn't really know how he felt about it.


	6. Chapter 6

As the time passed, it quickly became obvious for Jack that Sue was going to be very adamant, when it came to keeping the distance from him. Whenever he came to her apartment to spend some time with Emily – and now it wasn't only with Bobby on Sundays – they even barely talked. It hurt horribly, but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it other than just accepting the situation. It was, after all, his fault, even though he only did what he _had to_ do. Still, his reasons didn't matter for her, she wasn't even interested in why he stayed away for so long, and he wasn't going to make her listen to him. She didn't want to know it, just like she wasn't very eager to have him back in her life, and limiting their contact to what was absolutely inevitable with him being in their daughter's life was the perfect evidence of it.

Emily, on the other hand, had exactly opposite attitude towards him. It was a little of a surprise for everyone, but it was visible that she took likening towards him already on his second visit with Bobby, when she didn't ignore Hudson anymore, but wanted him to join whatever she was doing with her uncle. Soon it was Manning, who could feel left out, but he didn't complain; he was happy to watch father and daughter have so much fun together, and was sure that it was a good sign. It definitely was giving hope that one day they'll share the special, strong bond, which is present between a parent and a child, even though the girl wasn't aware who Jack actually was for her. Yet, the connection somehow seemed to be there, even though only now it was elicited, and anyone, who has ever seen the two together was pretty sure, that Emily was on her way to becoming a real daddy's girl.

Sue could be the best witness to it. Every time after Jack has left, the girl wasn't chattering about anything other than what they did, how fun it was and what else he promised to do with her. They agreed that he could come more often than once a week, and she knew that it was a very good idea by only watching how happy their daughter was. There was a part of her that couldn't stop thinking that it should be the way it was supposed to be since the very beginning of the child's life, not only now, and even regretting that he wasn't there. He slipped into the role of father without any problems, it came naturally for him and it was obvious that he enjoyed it very much. She had no doubts that even though he knew her for a relatively short time, he loved Emily with his whole heart and would do anything for her. He was showing the qualities of the wonderful father she always imagined he would be, and it still made her quite happy.

She couldn't enjoy it fully, she still felt horribly hurt. She has been convinced that they shared something, what couldn't be destroyed, but it turned out to be wrong. Yes, she could see the look in his eyes, when she caught him watching her every now and then, to which Bobby referred as the look of regret mixed with love. It made her feel horrible, especially because of their child; she could see them being a utterly happy, little family if only he hadn't left, or at least came back, when he had the chance earlier. But he has made the choice, and quite clearly didn't choose them, and no matter how heart-warming it was to watch him with Emily, she wasn't willing to put her trust in him again, so he could break her heart once again. Besides, there was also Trevor, and she was content with the loose relationship they had.

No matter how hard she tried to avoid it, there was no way she could prevent the two from meeting. She didn't really want it to happen, because it was obvious for her that Trevor wasn't very positively set towards Jack, and if Bobby was right about Hudson's feeling in a smallest part, she didn't have to wonder what will his attitude be. When Trev reminded her of the formal gathering held by the company he worked in, she called Jack to ask if he could come to stay with Emily, who naturally couldn't come with them even if she wanted, but Sue knew that the girl wouldn't. Now, that Emily was comfortable with him, Jack was the first one she thought about calling in a situation like this. She didn't really know this, but there was no way for him that he would miss an opportunity to spend some more time with the little girl, who was almost the sole reason he lived, next to her mother, but for obvious reasons his focus was mainly on Emily. So, when he of course agreed to come, she didn't think it was going to be any different than it usually was - Jack always arrived first, being as impatient as his daughter, and then Trevor met her on the street, after giving her a sign that he was there. This time, however, when her phone started vibrating before the brunet arrived, she knew that they will just have to meet.

"Sue, you do realise that we have to leave in ten minutes?" asked Trevor, when she opened the door for him and let him into the apartment.

He noticed the grin disappearing from Emily's face, the hint of disappointment visible in her eyes, and the girl moved from her spot behind her mother to go to her room, Levi as always following her. When he looked back at Sue, he noticed her look at him with her eyebrows raised.

"Of course I am aware that otherwise we'll be late but you don't think I'm going to leave Emily alone here just because of it, do you?" he could sense anger rising in her voice, and he shook his head. It was not what he meant to imply, even though he thought now that it could sound this way.

"No, no, I don't. Did he at least inform you why he's not here, yet?"

"He didn't give me the reason, just wrote to me that he's sorry, he's already on his way and should be here as soon as possible."

Trevor made a face, but didn't tell anything else, just stepped into the kitchen to sit by the table. He sat there, impatiently waiting for the sound of knocking, while watching the clock on the wall. The time seemed to pass very slowly, yet the hands of the clock moved and Hudson still didn't appear. He was getting annoyed; he was really looking forward to this evening, introducing Sue to people, who as for now only heard about her, and to being proud that he had such an amazing date as she was. It was impossible not to notice that she was a very special person, and he had no doubts that his colleagues would have no problem with seeing it, and understanding why he was so proud that they were dating.

Twenty minutes later it became obvious for him that there was no way they were not going to be late, and his mood worsened even more. Being late for a few minutes would definitely be better than half an hour or more, and he had no idea what he was going to say to his boss when he'd ask him what was the reason behind it. Telling the man that Emily didn't want to let Sue go would not only be unbelievable, but also would make Sue angry at him for putting a blame on her daughter. He jumped to his feet, when the sound of knocking finally came to his ears, followed by Emily's ecstatic squeal.

"Jack's here!" he could hear the girl's footsteps, as she ran to the door, standing in front of it and he stood in the kitchen, watching the scene.

The girl stood in front of the door, impatiently waiting for her mother to come and open it. The moment Sue did it and Emily noticed who was on the other side of the door, the girl flew herself into the man's arms. Trevor was sure it wasn't something new, because Hudson was prepared for it and hugged her the moment she moved to him, and then lifted her from the ground and sat her on his hip. He looked at her mother, and his words were stuck in his throat for a moment, as he took in her look. She was dressed in a dark blue, elegant dress, which accented her body in just the right places. For a moment he could only think about how beautiful she looked, almost perfect – if only her hair was let loose instead of being up, she'd be a walking definition of perfection.

"I'm really sorry, Sue." he finally managed to mutter and cleared his throat, hoping it would help him get his voice under control. "There's been a car accident and I had to wait much longer than I thought, because the doctor was summoned to help."

"The doctor? Is everything okay?" she asked, audibly worried and he nodded his head.

"Yes, everything is fine. It was a routine check-up, it's just been a while since I had my heart checked."

"Well, we can be going now." only when the man moved closer, and touched Sue's arm to get her attention, Jack noticed that there was someone else in the room.

Hudson couldn't help but think of how possessively the man's voice sounded, unaware that the look he had on his face just few minutes earlier, which perfectly showed all the feelings and thoughts waken by the sight of Sue. It didn't go unnoticed by Trevor, and the last thing he wanted was to watch Jack eye the blonde woman this way. He let go of Emily, who started to wriggle in his arms, and the girl ran to her room, most probably to find something to play with her dad.

"I believe we haven't had a chance to meet, yet. Trevor Hartwig, Sue's boyfriend." he extended his hand and Jack took it, shaking it. Sue only sighed at the way they've done it, trying to convince herself that the expression on both men's faces didn't mean trouble.

"Jack Hudson, Sue's hu..." he stopped himself in the middle, realising that it wasn't a good idea, and corrected himself. "Emily's dad."

Trevor nodded and then turned to Sue. She felt very uncomfortable and wanted to leave as soon as they could, shortening the awkward moment. As always, she reminded Jack of everything, and he listened to her even though he could recite everything word by word. It wasn't the first time he was staying with Emily and he always managed very well. Soon, Sue and Trevor were gone and he rolled his eyes. He knew the man for barely few minutes, and he already didn't like him. It was a big effort for him not to punch him, when he touched her in the way, that made Jack's blood boil even though it was completely innocent. He could see the challenge in his eyes, when they shook hands and accepted it without hesitation. He might be in the loser's position, but he was going to win Sue's heart back, the self-confident look in Hartwig's eyes making him only more determined.

"Jack, come!" he was brought back to reality by Emily's voice and threw the unpleasant thoughts away from his mind, turning around and going to the girl's room to spend a great time with his daughter.


	7. Chapter 7

Sue sighed, taking her seat behind the table next to Trevor, as she came back from the toilet. Just for formality, she stated that she's back, but she could as well forget about it and it'd do no difference. Her boyfriend was so occupied in talking with the two men sitting nearby, that he probably didn't even notice that she was gone. The two women, who were his friends' dates, were very busy gossiping about everyone in the room; Sue had no doubts that they had to know each other very well, and they weren't really willing to include her in the conversation. So she just sat there, wondering how long it was going to take for the whole event to take; she couldn't wait to go home, even if it meant facing Jack.

She couldn't say that people weren't kind towards her, just the contrary. They all behaved politely, exchanged some words with her, but as soon as everyone were present and everything fell into place, she was forgotten. It made her very uncomfortable, even more because the only person she knew was Trevor, and she couldn't just go to another place to find someone to pass the time with. She's barely met those people and she definitely wasn't going to bother them with her company, if it was so clearly unwanted. So she just sat there, getting more and more upset as the time was passing. Her anger was mostly focused on Trevor; she came as his date, and the truth was that she could just stay home and it'd be exactly the same. He really didn't need her to sit at his side and stare at the wall, or at the people around, and it's not like he even thought about asking her to dance. She couldn't help but felt hurt by it; yes, it was true that she didn't feel very comfortably on the dance floor and was always hesitant to accept the invitation. It took Jack some time before he convinced her that he really didn't mind taking chances, that his dancing skills were definitely not enough for him to think of anything other than just swaying to the rhythm of the music. Trevor didn't even try.

Some time later she decided that she had enough. Most of the mean were drunk, the woman crowded in another place and were engaged in a lively talk, and she was like a spare prick at the wedding, so she could as well leave. She took out her Blackberry, with hope that maybe she missed a text message or a phone call from Jack, that Emily was being difficult and didn't want to take a bath or go to bed, but there was absolutely nothing. She sighed, knowing that she just had to lie and approached Trevor, who was in the middle of telling a funny story about his best friend, for the second time this evening. She patiently waited until he finished and got his attention, only to have him brush her off. It was when something snapped inside her and she just picked up her purse and walked out without telling anything to anyone.

She found an empty taxi, gave her home address and soon was standing in front of the door to her apartment. From the street she could see that all the lights were out, there was only a glow in the living room window, which had to came from the TV. She carefully turned the key in the lock, and being as quiet as possible, she stepped into the apartment. She was immediately greeted by Levi, who came out of Emily's room. It was only a moment before he decided that it's time to go back to keeping an eye on her daughter. She was surprised that Jack didn't go out to greet her, but she assumed he was focused on TV, so she just made her way to Emily's bedroom. She saw the girl sleeping peacefully on her back, her arms and legs spread in all the directions, her mouth partially open. Her pillow was already on the floor, and the duvet kicked down to the end of the bed and Sue just smiled. She lifted the pillow and placed it back on its place, but above the child's head. She sat at the edge of the bed and brushed a strand of her away from her face, then leaned down and kissed her forehead. She took a moment longer to cover her, tucking her in. Then she glanced to the side, where Levi's lair was lying and of course, the dog was there. Ever since Emily was born, he was always sleeping in her room; he was very protective over the little girl. He was even called a baby monitor sometimes, because he always ran to her when only Emily started to cry or he sensed that something was wrong, for what she was always grateful.

She left the room and slowly made her way to the living room. A grin spread at her face the moment her eyes landed on the couch. If only it was a little bigger, so Jack could actually spread on it, she'd be looking at the exactly the same scene she just saw in her daughter's room. Not that she ever had any doubts about it, but Emily's sleeping habits were yet another thing she inherited after her father. She slowly approached the couch, with the intention of waking him up but ended up watching him sleep. She didn't even know where the thought came from, but she knew that he'd have never acted like Trevor did this evening. Whenever they went out together, he was always making sure that she didn't feel uncomfortable, and even though he wasn't always at her side all the time, he was paying attention to what she was doing, always ready to come and rescue her if needed.

It only then dawned at her, that the reason behind it was told to her straight to face by Lucy few days earlier. After spending some time with her grandmother, who had fallen sick, she returned to DC and the women left. Even though she didn't have a chance to meet with him yet, she knew that Jack was back and Sue wasn't surprised, that she wasn't happy with the way Sue acted towards him.

_"You're a stubborn idiot, Sue." were miss Dotson's first words, when Sue related everything to her. "It was breaking everybody's heart to watch you so devastated after his assumed death, to watch you cling to practically nonexistent possibility of him coming back to you. Then you met Trevor, and I thought that maybe he'll be able to help you really move on, but all I could see was you looking for Jack in him. Every time you two fought, it was because he wasn't like Jack or didn't do something like he'd do! And now you have the man back and all you do is push him away. I don't get it Sue, why torture yourself like this? You love him, Emily adores him, and from what everyone say, he loves you both very, very much. What more do you want?"_

She ignored her friend completely, it wasn't true. She wasn't looking for Jack in Trevor, she did move on. Of course, he was present in her heart and probably always going to be; she married him after all, they had a child together, a daughter, who reminded her of him with the way she looked and what she did. But she stopped clinging to this mentioned hope long time ago, she accepted that he wasn't going to be back and just because he was, it meant nothing. Yes, there was a time that she couldn't imagine things to be this way between them, but it was time when she was hopelessly in love with him. Now everything was different.

No matter what her mind was telling her, her heart seemed to have a life on its own. She tried to muffle its ridiculous desires, but found it difficult. It was screaming at her that Lucy was right, but she couldn't agree. She didn't even know how it happened, but she found her fingers slowly tracing the line of his jaw, caressing his cheek as he was sleeping. She could see the years influence on him, the signs of getting older more visible in him than they'd probably be if all the circumstances were different, but it didn't make him any less handsome. And his eyes, those wonderful, brown eyes she came to love so much, and she was so happy to see Emily got.

His eyes! Sue gasped, realising that they were open and he was looking at her. She withdrew her hand immediately, feeling her cheeks burn and she could only be grateful for lack of light inside the room, as she was sure her face had a deep red colour. She stood there, frozen, feeling her heart beat quickly in panic, and watched him slowly stand up from the couch, his eyes glued to her. She turned her head like she was looking around, but she didn't really see anything and trying to find a way to escape, she started walking towards the door. She didn't go far, thanks to the darkness she didn't see one of Emily's blocks and stood at it. She didn't have her shoes on and made a muffled cry when the edge of it stuck into her foot, losing her balance in an attempt to ease the pain. Jack reacted automatically, wrapping his arms around her to catch her, and steady her on her feet.

She was a little taken aback, when she was already standing normally, but his arms remained where they were. She looked up, at his face, and found herself gazing straight into his eyes. She didn't know if it was the feeling of his arms around her, or the look in his eyes, but she shocked even herself by cupping his cheek and moving closer to kiss him. She could sense his surprise in his initial lack of response, but then he tightened his grip, pulling her closer, kissing her back. It could hardly be described as a gentle kiss; it was passionate and needy, speaking volumes of the frustration, longing he felt, yet at the same time showing her just how many feelings towards her were still present in his heart, and how much he missed her. The moment he reciprocated her gesture, she was lost to the world, everything what mattered were all the emotions he was waking up in her and she was sure it would end only in one way if not for sudden wave of consciousness, which helped her realise what she was doing.

She pushed Jack away, flying out of his arms, and looked at the floor, embarrassed. She tried to say something, but she felt unable to form words and all that left her mouth were some pointless sounds.

"I... You.. I didn't... I'm sorry!" she finally stuttered, unable to look up at his face.

"It's.. It's okay. I-I should go." he said, when he finally encouraged her to raise his eyes with a gentle touch of his hand on her arm.

"Yeah... Thanks for staying with Emily..."

"Anytime."

She sighed with relief, when he left the apartment, and rested her forehead against the cold surface of the door. What enticed her to act this way she was never going to know, and she felt guilty. Yet, at the same time, she couldn't stop thinking about how right it felt to be in Jack's arms, to be kissed by him. She shook her head; she shouldn't be thinking this way. Just because she was really upset with her boyfriend didn't mean, that she could come and kiss another man, even if it was the person, who at one time – and actually still – was her husband.

Jack, on the other hand, felt like new strength came to his body. He was grinning widely all the way to his apartment, barely able to tame all the happy emotions awaken by the kiss. Most importantly, there was hope; the very same hope he was slowly losing, that he actually had any chance of winning Sue's heart back. Yet, the simple fact that she did kiss him, as well as the eagerness in it and the way she pressed her body against his, it all made him think that it was obviously the fight, that wasn't lost just yet. It didn't matter she pushed him away or that she was probably going to act like nothing happened next time they see each other. It was all he needed. For now.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Thanks for reading the story and leaving me reviews! It's nice to see people are enjoying it! One thing I wanted to say is that I am aware that it's rather unlikely for Emily to be speaking the way I write her words at the age of two. I have no idea how a child so young speaks in English, I guess I could even have problems with it in Polish. I've only had contact with two children so young, one was my very shy cousin, who didn't speak much at all, and the other was my friend's very talkative son, but he was speaking Polish. I hope you're not going to mind, but I decided to stick to writing it just this way.

**_Cool_**_**Breeze**_- I have to write it here, as you're not logged in. In answer to your question, it is and it isn't safe to assume it. One of the reasons why the topic didn't emerge appeared even in this chapter, Sue and Jack don't talk to each other a lot, and when they do, they mostly talk about their daughter. Sue is very insistent on keeping her distance from Hudson, and even though it's not entirely like this, she's not so much interested in listening to him. Jack, on the other hand, doesn't want to push her, but he's also not so eager to bring the topic of his being away, he didn't really discuss it with anyone, not only with Sue. It could be seen in the fourth chapter, at the end - he didn't start defending himself to Bobby, he just decided to let the matter be. But I can promise tha the talk will appear, in the right moment of the story. I hope it's satysfying answer for you.

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All the thoughts swimming around in Sue's head, mixed with a sense of guilt and uncertainty made it practically impossible for her to fall asleep that night. She had a muddle in her head and didn't know what to think. It was like two parts of her had a huge argument in her head and she was standing in the middle, unable to decide which one was right.

A part of her that her pangs of conscience were ridiculous. How could she feel bad about kissing the man, who was her husband? If there was anyone, who had a right to kiss her, wasn't it Jack? After all, Trevor was only her boyfriend, and the husband was higher in the hierarchy of relationships. Did it mean, that she was cheating on Jack with Trev? Or maybe she wasn't, because he suddenly appeared because they were already together, and instead she just cheated on Trevor with Jack? Would that even count as cheating?

She groaned, hiding her face in the pillow. How it was possible for her life to become such a mess in such a short period of time? The worst thing was, that the longer she was thinking, the less convinced she was becoming what was the right thing to do. Maybe she should give Jack a chance, if not for herself then for Emily, after all they had shared such a strong connection in the past, maybe it wasn't completely gone? Her heart's behaviour definitely suggested it. Didn't their daughter deserve a real family? Wouldn't it be worth it, if she had to make a sacrifice for her child? Yet, there was a part of her, which detested the idea of even thinking about coming back to Jack. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't stop holding it against him how much he hurt her, how he shattered her heart to pieces, and she wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to trust him so completely again. She didn't even want to think about Trevor, who she was really angry at. How could he treat her like this? Why did he even brought her there, if making an idiot of himself was way more important for him than listening to one sentence she wanted to tell him, not to mention that he practically ignored her whole evening?

Sue sighed, raising herself to the sitting position and slowly getting out of the bed. She shivered, as the cool air met with her skin, used to the warmer temperature under the duvet and made her way to the kitchen, to pour herself a glass of water. How glad she was it was Friday and she didn't have to wake up in the morning, there was no way she'd be able to. Few moments later she found herself going to Emily's room again, to check on her, and she didn't even know how much time she spent just watching her little girl sleep, caressing her head gently. She had so many doubts, but she knew that there was one thing she really had to do, and it was to finally tell her, who Jack actually was for her.

She didn't want to do that immediately, she wanted to give her a chance to become accused to Jack first. It turned out much better than she imagined it would; she wasn't sure if Emily reacted so positively to anyone. She had no idea how he did that, but he seemed to conquer the girl's heart without any problems; maybe this easiness came because she was so much like him? She really didn't know, but it made her happy to see, that her daughter now had a daddy she adores so much, and she deserved to know that Jack wasn't just another one of her 'uncles', but a person much more meaningful. But how was she supposed to address a two year old child with such a topic? Especially, that Emily asked her a few times where was her daddy, possibly influenced by the children she watched. She couldn't tell her that she didn't have a dad, and the first thing, which came to her mind was that he was saving the world. It wasn't a lie, even if she didn't really know it then, and in a way, Jack _was_ saving a world during his time away, wasn't he?

As she watched her little girl during the next day, she was only more convinced that telling her would be the right thing to do. Sue was very surprised, when Jack didn't come to them on Saturday, even if a part of her was afraid of this meeting. How was she going to face him after the previous evening? Her worries turned out to be unnecessary, because he didn't show up and she just assumed something important must have stopped him from his usual habits. She was, however, very sorry for Emily, who was very disappointed. It was the first time he didn't appear and Sue could see in her eyes just how sad it made their daughter. She was on the edge of crying, when Sue said that he most probably won't come and she wasn't going to go for a walk with him. The trigger happened when she ran into the room with Levi, catching her mother's hand and pulling her towards the door, when she finally heard the knocking. The big, happy grin faded from her face the moment she realised it wasn't Jack behind the door and was replaced by a very sad expression and her eyes filled with tears, as she ran to her room.

The first thing Sue noticed, as she opened the door was a huge bouquet of flowers, and later Trevor's face. The man looked at her with an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, Sue." said Trevor, using his one hand to try to sign, but his attempts at even such an easy gesture were miserable and he ended up moving his hand in a way, which meant absolutely nothing. She never thought it could be so difficult for someone, but Trevor completely couldn't grasp anything of ASL. "I behaved like an asshole, and I understand that you're probably very upset, but I want you to know, that I am really, really sorry. I should have acted differently, paid you more attention... Forgive me, please."

"Okay." she said after a moment, seeing in the man's eyes that his apologies were sincere. He smiled widely and hugged her tightly, before leaning down to press a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Thank you! I promise, I'm never going to do something like this again!"

"Yeah... Look, I should go to Emily..."

"Of course, I can't stay anyway. My sister's birthday party." he reminded her "What's wrong with Emily?"

"Jack didn't come, and yesterday he promised her he'll take her for a walk and to the playground."

When Trevor left, her thoughts have yet again, drifted to the kiss from the previous evening and she could feel her stomach clench with guilt. Trev just kissed her, and what she felt was nothing in comparison to what the simpliest feeling of Jack's arms around her made her feel, not to mention that his kiss made her completely lose her head... She groaned and pushed the thoughts away, focusing on something more important than her internal battle between heart and brain. She looked at Emily through the partially open door to the child's bedroom and noticed her sitting on the bed, holding her favourite teddy bear against herself, and caressing Levi's head, which the dog placed next to her. She didn't even notice Sue walk into the room, she looked at her mother only when she approached, and didn't put any fight, when she lifted her from the bed to take her place and sit the girl on her lap.

"What's wrong, Sweetie?" she asked, wiping away the tear drop, which was slowly moving down the girl's cheek.

"Jack said he'll come... He always comes..."

"I'm sure he didn't because something very important happened and he just couldn't."

"Why..?"

Sue sighed, hugging her tightly. She had no idea why Jack didn't come, and she didn't receive any phone call or text message from him. At the same time, as their talk was already about the man, she thought it might be a good moment to tell the girl the truth about who he was for her. Sue didn't know how much of it Emily understood, but she could see that she took it well.

"Look Honey, I'm sure that Jack would rather be here, with you than anywhere else."

"Because he loves me..? Uncle Bobby always said daddy loves me... And Jack is daddy, so..."

"Yes, because he loves you. Very, very much."

They sat for a moment in silence, just cuddling. It was something they both always enjoyed very much, even if usually it was on the couch in the living room, when Emily was watching cartoons and Sue had the free moment to think. It wasn't like they could talk then, and Sue wasn't able to read the cartoon characters' lips, but just sitting together was enough for them. Now it was a little different, and the moment was definitely shorter when the girl had not much to focus on. Soon she tugged at her mom's sleeve, to get her attention.

"Emily should call Jack daddy now..?" she asked, and Sue shrugged.

"Only if you want."

"Will he come tomorrow?"

"I think he will."

He didn't. When she opened the door to the apartment in the morning, she saw Bobby standing there. His presence was an obvious sign that Jack knew he couldn't come, and asked his best friend to do it instead. Manning noticed a confusion in Sue's gaze and the moment he stepped inside, he explained everything.

"Jack's grandfather was taken to the hospital on Friday at night. His mother called him and he got onto the first plane to Wisconsin. He said he called you probably hundred times, sent some text messages and even left the message on voicemail, because you were out of range all the time."

Only then it dawned on Sue, that she switched her phone off on her way home from the unfortunate event, knowing that Trevor was going to call her the moment he realises she was gone. She has completely forgotten about it! Now she knew why didn't get any sign from Jack, and the moment she switched it on, she noticed that Bobby was right. Hudson did try to contact her a lot of times, but he had no chance to reach her.

"You say he flew to Wisconsin..?" Manning nodded, and Sue winced. His eyes widened at the realisation what it meant.

"You didn't tell him?"

"I didn't have an opportunity! The topic never arose, and it's not like we converse a lot! Only few words here, few words there..."

"But Sue, it's an _important matter_! You don't think that he is not going to mention anything to them, do you? Because believe me, he talks about Emily a lot!"

"I _know_!"

"Poor Sparky, to have a surprise like this in such a moment..." sighed Bobby, wondering how his friend was doing in his hometown.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** This chapter is more of a filler, than anything and doesn't really answer the question I placed in the back of the previous one. In my plans it was supposed to end in a completely different place, but as I was writing it started to get longer and longer, and this seemed like a good place for a stop. Hope you're going to enjoy it anyway!

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The good mood he had after getting out of Sue's apartment didn't have a chance to last long. He managed to get back to his own place, take a shower, sleep for a rather short time until he was awakened by the sound of the ringing phone. Partially conscious, he reached to get it and answered it in a sleepy, husky voice, without looking at the screen to check who was so crazy to call him in the middle of the night. The moment he heard his mother's shaking voice on another side his heart sunk; it could only mean that something was wrong and the only question remaining was with who.

It turned out it was his almost ninety years old grandfather, who was taken to the hospital after he had broken his hip, while looking after one of his brother's sons. The man was in a good health, it was better than this of a lot of people, who were younger than him, so babysitting his great grandchildren was nothing unusual for him. They didn't really know how it happened, only that he fell, but the injury was bad enough to require a surgery. Everything would be fine if there weren't any complications during it, but most probably because of his heart - which was the only part of his body to cause him any, even smallest, problems – there were some, quite serious ones. Now the man was in a coma, and the doctors weren't sure if he was going to wake up from it.

He jumped out of the bed and as fast as he could, gathered the most important things and left the apartment to go to the airport. He had no idea when the next flight to Wisconsin was going to be, but he was going to do absolutely everything in his power to get onto it. Jack was always very close to his immediate family, which wasn't really big as his father had only a brother, who he didn't keep a contact with and his mother was an only child. Yet, a connection between him and his mom's father has always been a very strong one, and as long as he was still living at home, he spent most of his time with his grandfather. It was commonly known that as much as his older brother was a true Hudson by any mean, Jack was more of a Mayfield, taking much more after his mother's side than his father's, and was the apple of Samuel Mayfield's eye. And even though he knew that one day it will happen, even the thought of possibility of losing his grandfather made Jack sick.

The first plane was leaving at six in the morning, and was going via Chicago, but there was no direct flight from DC to Milwaukee and it was the fastest one. What mattered to him was to get to Wisconsin as early as possible, so he didn't hesitate a moment to buy a ticket, when the woman told him that tickets for it were still available. As he waited, he sent a text message to his mother when he'll arrive and then his first thought was to call Sue. He even reached for his cell phone, when his eyes landed on the clock in front of him. He couldn't call her at such an early hour! Yes, she was a morning person, but there was no way she'd be awake so early especially that it was Saturday and she didn't have any reason to wake up early other than Emily, and it was not likely for their daughter to be out of bed before nine. He'll have to wait and call her later, to inform her about the whole situation, because he didn't want to risk that she'll assume he didn't come because he didn't want to. He didn't think she'd do it, he was pretty sure she'll think something happened, but he wasn't going to take any chances.

Finally the boarding started and he was one of the first people in the queue, impatient to get onto the first plane. Thanks to the stress, there was no way he was going to sleep during the flight and even though it wasn't taking a full hour to get to Chicago, he felt like ages has passed since he sat in the seat. But then he was at least moving; almost an hour of waiting there was much worse to bear. Finally, half past eight in the morning he landed in Milwaukee and some time later he looked around the arrivals hall. His mother texted him that someone will pick him up at the airport, but he couldn't see any familiar face.

"Jack, over here!" he heard and turned around.

He noticed a woman, standing among the people waiting for others, waving to him and at first he didn't recognized her. Only when he came closer, he realised it was nobody else but his sister-in-law; the last time he saw her she was slimmer and had blonde hair instead of red, but it was definitely Caroline.

"My goodness, Jack! You haven't changed a bit! It's good to see you!" they exchanged a hug, and then started walking towards the woman's car. "I guess you want to go directly to the hospital, right?"

"Yeah, I'd like that."

It wasn't the shortest of rides, and most of it Jack spent on answering Caroline's questions. He was in no mood for talking, and being a very inquiring human being, his brother's wife asked more than a few, which he decided to leave unanswered. He could only be glad that she didn't push him, the last thing he wanted was to shout at her. Even though she didn't show it so much, she was very concerned about Samuel, she just wanted him to focus on something else. Finally the silence fell between them and Jack decided it was a good time to try to call Sue without risking to wake her up, but the call was directed straight to the woman's voicemail. He tried once again, and one more time, but it was all the same, so instead he wrote her a text message that he couldn't come and to call him when she read it.

"How are Timothy and the boys?" he asked, when the silence started to be a little uncomfortable.

"They're great. Tim has just found his new obsession, which is paragliding and I can't wait for him to find something else. I mean, it's better than skydiving, but still gives me goose bumps. Tyler is nine and a star of his baseball team, Brian just turned five and of course, wants to do everything his older brother do, and little Xavier was born three months ago."

"Oh, really? Congratulations!"

They finally arrived at the hospital and Caroline led Jack to the room, where his grandfather was lying. The corridor was empty, but he noticed his mother sitting at the man's side.

"They must have gone home. The doctors said that only one person can be with him at a time, so now that he's somewhat stable there's no need for everyone to be here. I should probably go home, too, Xavier is going to be fussy..."

"Sure, go. I'll stay here with mom."

"Call us if something changes, we'll come later."

He watched Caroline walk down the corridor, to the elevator and then moved to the partially open door. He gently knocked, not wanting to scare his mother, and the woman turned around immediately when the sound reached her ears. He could see that her eyes were red and puffy, and she must have been crying, as well as not sleeping most of the night. She stood up from the chair and walked to her son, wrapping her arms around him as she reached him. He hugged her tightly, and feeling that she started sobbing again, didn't let go of her only held her, trying to comfort her.

"I really thought you'll come under happier circumstances, Jack..." she said, when she moved away from him a little.

"Yeah, me too."

"The doctors say that he's stable, but they can't give us any assurance that he'll be fine... His heart and his age are definitely not the advantages in this situation..."

"Let's hope for the best, Mom. Can I go inside?"

"Of course, you can! He'd be so happy to see you here..!" she added after a moment and her voice broke.

Only when he made sure she's going to be fine standing there by herself, Jack slowly went inside the room. It would be completely silent if not for the sound making by all the machines the man was connected to. As he approached the bed, the first thing Jack noticed was just how pale his grandfather was in comparison to his usual look. He could feel the lump forming in his throat as he was looking at him, fighting the tears. It was so painful to watch the man in such a state, and soon he wasn't able to stop it any longer, and let the tears flow down his cheeks. Oh how he regretted he decided not to come to Wisconsin after returning, that he thought it was better to stay in DC and fight for Sue and Emily. They were, of course, very important but he shouldn't have been focused so solely on the two of them! And now, as he was sitting in the chair, he couldn't stop reproaching himself; he didn't even want to think that Samuel wasn't going to wake up from his coma, and he'll never going to have a chance to spend some time with him again.

It took them some persuading, but they were able to convince doctors to allow the two of them to stay in the room, and when Jack's father and brother later arrived, they found them both seated at each side of the bed. It wasn't easy, but eventually they agreed to go home and take some rest and together they left the building. Jack tried, for who knew what time that day, call Sue but got no results. He made a mental note to call Bobby later and ask him to go to her in the morning, and drove home with his mother. As they arrived in his hometown, he could see that not much has changed there since the last time he visited. It wasn't very surprising, the life there wasn't very dynamic and for some it would be even horribly boring, but he has always felt a sentiment towards the place. The peace present there was something he always missed in DC, and the truth was that one day in the future he hoped to return and live there, or at least in a similar town.

"Uncle Jack!" he heard, when he stepped into the house and heard footsteps coming in his direction.

Soon, his oldest nephew was hugging him tightly and Jack couldn't get over the fact how much the boy has grew and changed. Only when Tyler moved away, he noticed Brian, standing in the door to the living room and watching him carefully. He wasn't surprised that the boy didn't remember him, the last time he saw him was when he was a little over two years old. It took him just a few sentences to get a big grin from the boy and a small hug and he noticed that Caroline was looking at him with amazement in her eyes.

"I have no idea what you whispered to him, but it seems to work miracles! He's never like this with anyone!" she said and looked at Xavier, who was in her arms and staring at Jack curiously.

"Hi Xavier." he said, reaching out his hand and taking the little boy's hand gently shaking it, smiling as it only made the child's look more curious.

It was quickly clear that the youngest Hudson liked his uncle, and Caroline was lost in admiration towards Jack. She has never seen her children so easily opening to someone, and with him it seemed to come naturally.

"One day, when you decide to have children, you're going to be a really amazing dad!" she told him and he looked at her with a surprise in his eyes.

She was visibly taken aback by the way he was staring at her, at the confusion in his eyes. Jack, however, didn't know how to understand her words. Was it possible, that they had absolutely no idea about Emily? Could Sue do such a thing and keep her away from his family? He has never thought she would do it, but he also had to admit that it wouldn't be so incomprehensible. After all, she has never met any member of his family, and could not feel comfortable with the idea of coming here, to tell a group of people she completely didn't know that she was his wife, and her child was his as well.

"Umm... I actually do have a child... A daughter, Emily... She's turning two next week..."

It was his mother's and sister-in-law's turn to stare at him in disbelief.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Oh my, I can't believe it's already the 10th chapter! When the idea was born, I thought it's not going to have more than 7 but it seems to be growing quite much with new things coming to my mind all the time! I can only hope someone out there is enjoying to read it as much, as it's fun for me to write it. Thanks for your reviews and here is the next update!

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Jack stood between the two woman, staring at him and sighed. He hasn't felt so uncomfortable in this place since high school, but it was completely different kind of uncomfortable feeling, even if equal in strength. His parents weren't going to scold him for having a child, he was a grown up man and they couldn't tell him anything about it, even if Emily was a complete accident. He couldn't say that she was planned, but if he knew anything it was that her mother was a woman of his dreams, who he wanted to spend his whole life with, and the fact that she was conceived after they were married was only proving it. And even though he was disappointed that his family had no idea about the changes in his personal life, he wasn't able to be angry at Sue. It should have been him, after all, to inform them about it and introduce Sue and later Emily to his family. Yet, he always thought that Sue would feel like going to Wisconsin for the sake of her child, so she would know her family from Jack's side, but obviously he was wrong.

"I think it'll be better if Jack explains everything when dad and Tim are back." suggested Caroline, breaking the silence and Elisabeth nodded. As much as she wanted to hear everything now, she knew that this way he wouldn't have to tell everything twice. "He can include the explanation for his wedding ring as well, it's not like I didn't notice it."

The redhead smiled, when her mother-in-law's eyes bulged out and moved to Jack's left hand only to see that there was indeed a gold band on his fingers. Jack only sighed, sending an apologizing look to his mother and made his way upstairs to his bedroom. A tiny smile appeared on his face when he looked around and noticed, that not a single thing was changed in there; everything was exactly the way he left it the last time, and mostly the same way it was when he was still living there as a teenager. The main difference was that the mess inside wasn't as big as it used to be then, but all the posters, cassettes, even pictures were still on their places.

He placed his bag on the floor and fell heavily onto the bed. It just couldn't reach his mind that his parents had absolutely no idea about his wife and his daughter, and he knew that it was going to hurt them very much after his explaining. He had no doubts that if they had known, they wouldn't have thought of not being present in his little girl's life. Caroline did tell him that they have always known that he was alive, and this was the reason why they didn't go to the funeral, when it was held. Yet, he knew that they wouldn't have hesitated to accept Emily – and Sue as well – into the family. If the fate prevented him from coming back, the two would be, in a way, everything they had left after him.

He took his phone out of his pocket and decided to try to call Sue once again. He wasn't very surprised that the result was exactly the same as all the previous times, but he was starting to become worried. What if she wasn't answering the phone because something happened? But if anything was indeed wrong, someone would have called to inform him, he had no doubts about it. He sighed and looked for another person on his list, and just few signals after he pressed the call button he heard his friend's familiar voice.

"Hi Sparks, what's up? Something's wrong that you decided to call me?" he rolled his eyes, but then he had to admit that Bobby had a right to ask him a question like this. It wasn't like he was calling him often, ever since he returned it was mostly Manning contacting him not the other way around.

"Did you hear from Sue today? I tried to call her but she's not answering her phone and I have an important matter to talk to her about."

"No, I didn't. I thought you'd be at her place now, as you always are..." he could hear a hint of worry in Bobby's voice and sighed.

"That's the point, I couldn't come today and won't be able to do it tomorrow. My grandfather is in the hospital and I'm in Wisconsin, I don't know when I'll be back in DC... Could you go to her tomorrow, and maybe tell her about it?"

"Sure, I will. I'll tell her to contact you, too."

"Thanks."

They didn't talk much, Jack didn't really feel like it and shortly told him that he had to go, even though it wasn't true. He kept lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling until he heard knocking and few seconds later his mother opened the door. She was carrying a plate with the dinner for him, and even though it has always been a strict policy at his home not to eat anywhere besides the kitchen unless sick and staying in bed, it looked like she decided to make an exception this time.

"Don't tell me you're not hungry. I'm not sure I want to know when was the last time you ate, and even though I believe you don't feel like eating, you should." she said before he even thought of opening his mouth and Jack could only nod in response. "Timothy called a while ago, he said that the prognosis is definitely more positive as nothing happened since the surgery... He and dad are going to be home soon, they got kicked out by the nurses."

Elisabeth left and Jack slowly started to eat the dinner. One bite was enough for him to know it was cooked by Caroline, and even though he has never been a fan of her cooking, he consumed it. Even though he didn't feel hungry, the moment he started to eat his stomach decided to show him just how much his body wanted the food. In this moment even Caroline's vapid meal – which he was sure his brother would call the best thing in the world, and it wouldn't be a lie on his side – was good.

Some time later he heard the sound of car engine and two sounds of slamming the door to the car, which told him that his father and brother were back. It was only a matter of time before his mother was going to be back, insisting for him to come down and tell him immediately how it was that he was married, had a child and they had no idea about it. Of course, he wasn't wrong and soon the sound of footsteps on the stairs came to his ears; he could practically count seconds to the moment of another, much shorter knocking.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." he said, picking up the plate, which he put on the bedside table and followed his mother out of the room.

When he went into the living room, he was sure that Elisabeth and Caroline have already broken the news as the two man were looking at him, very surprised.

"Is it true, what your mother says?" asked Charles the moment he noticed Jack walk in.

"As much as I hate the fact that I have to tell you like this, it is true." he admitted, shrugging. "I do have a wife, even though after this time away it's quite a complicated situation..."

"You got married before you went onto this mission?" interrupted Timothy, and Jack nodded.

"Yes, we did. Now I think that maybe I should have been more insistent on waiting until I'm back, but I was supposed to be away only six month, not almost three years..."

"What do you mean?" asked Elisabeth and Charles cleared his throat.

"If you're going to interrupt him every sentence, he's never going to tell us anything."

"It's okay, dad. What I mean is that it was more of Sue's idea to marry when we did... I did know I want to spend my life with her, there is no other woman for me of this I'm sure... I proposed, but I thought about getting married later, when I'm back and everyone can attend. She suggested not to wait and even though I wasn't sure it was a good idea she convinced me... I am quite sure that now she wishes she hasn't done it."

Another question was just on the tip of Elisabeth's tongue, and the fact that he made a pause was giving her a perfect opportunity to ask it, but she didn't really need to. His sigh, the sad expression in her son's eyes and his voice were telling her that this hurt him very much, that he was still very deeply in love with this Sue. She has heard the name before, she remembered Jack telling them about her during his visits and phone calls and she was very happy when he informed them that they were – finally – in a relationship. It was obvious for her that he was in love with her for a very long time, and even though she has never had the opportunity to meet her, from Jack's stories she was able to make a picture of her. She always thought she had to be a very special woman, she has never seen her son so hopelessly in love, and she was convinced that Sue wouldn't be a kind of person to easily stop loving someone. But as much as she wanted to think that the woman still loved her son, she had no way of knowing it, and maybe he was right, maybe she did regret the decision.

"Anyway, we have a child, a wonderful little girl. Her name is Emily and she's going to turn two this Thursday." the change in Jack didn't go unnoticed by anyone, they could see the hint of a smile on his lips, a pride and love in his voice, and the dreamy look on his face. They listened as he was telling them of everything he learned about the child over the time he had a chance to take care of her.

Then it dawned on him that he had pictures in his wallet. He took it out and got them, handing them two her mother's waiting hand. One of those was the very same picture of Emily as a baby, which he carried with himself for quite a long time now. Another was a photo taken during the time when he and Sue were blissfully happy, newly married couple and one of his friends was able to capture the loving look they exchanged on one of the evenings they went out all together. The last one was a picture taken by Sue, when he was reading the book to Emily. He remembered very well how she walked into the room and asked them to smile, and they both raised their eyes to look at her. He could also remember how she was later explaining to him that she thought their daughter should finally have a picture with him, and he asked her for a copy for himself.

"My goodness! It's like I'm looking at Jack as a baby, only he didn't have pink clothes!" exclaimed his mother and Jack smiled slightly. Not that he would mind if his daughter looked like Sue, but he always felt proud that she have inherited her features after him. "She's so similar to you..." she added, looking at the other photo.

"Grandpa would be so proud of her, I can hear his voice that there is another little Mayfield, even though bearing Hudson name." spoke Timothy and bit his tongue.

The atmosphere in the room immediately changed and any smile, present on anyone's face, faded. None of them had any doubts that he was wrong, but the mention of the man, who should be sitting with them instead of lying unconscious in the hospital stirred the painful thoughts in their minds. On the other hand, they were practically sure that if not for this whole accident, Jack wouldn't come to Wisconsin anytime soon and they would be living in ignorance for who knew how long.

"Why didn't this Sue of yours tell us anything? It's not like we would push her away!" inquired Charles and Jack shrugged in response.

"I guess she didn't feel comfortable with coming here, because she has never met any of you. I'm going to ask her when I'll have the opportunity, but right now I have absolutely no idea."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Here we go, finally some answers, with some more questions on the way! I hope you're going to enjoy!

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He opened his eyes and took in his surroundings; the initial surprise at his whereabouts subsided when the events from the previous day came back. He slowly raised himself into a sitting position and reached to the side, to grab his phone lying on the bedside table. It was seven in the morning, not the usual hour he was waking up, but he didn't feel like getting back to sleep, even though his body screamed for it. He barely slept, unable to drift off because of the huge amount of thoughts on his mind mixed with the worry, that during the night something might happen.

He knew that he was the only awake person in the house, even though there were a lot of differences between them one thing they all had in common – they weren't morning people. Trying to be as quiet as possible, he went to the bathroom to shower, and then got dressed and went downstairs. He could hear his brother's snoring coming from the living room, perfectly audible in the kitchen, which was quite a distance from it. He never understood how his wife was able to sleep just next to Timothy, when Jack used to have troubles being in another room. Yet, it was a good sign for him that his efforts were working and he didn't wake anyone.

He winced when he turned on the kettle; he really didn't recall it making so much noise on the previous evening but it could be because now the whole house was silent. Few moments later the water was hot and he sat by the table, taking a small, careful sip of the hot liquid. He knew that it was going to be some time before anyone would be awake, with the exception of Caroline. She apologized in advance on the previous day for possible waking him up, when little Xavier is up, but it was obvious her apologies were completely unnecessary. Still, he had no idea what to do with himself and decided that he could as well take his parents' car and go to the hospital.

Jack knew, that if anyone was to wake up and find the car gone before realising, that he was gone as well, a huge panic will arose, so he left the small note on the same hook, where the keys to the car were always kept. Sometime later he reached his destination and soon walked into Samuel's room. Everything was pretty much in the same way as during his previous visit, only the chairs were put back into their original places. He took one of them and placed in at the side of the bed, sitting down on it and taking his grandfather's hand in his.

He sat there for two hours completely uninterrupted by anyone besides nurses. He started talking to him, his voice not much louder than whisper. Just the sight of the man was making his voice get stuck in his throat, and shake when he was able to form words. There was no real sense in his monologue, but he continued as he heard many times that unconscious people were able to hear those around them and it could help them wake up. He didn't know how much of it was true, and had no idea if it was what caused it, but some time later he felt the old man grasp his hand.

"Jackson..." he looked up at his grandfather's face to see his eyes open and a small smile gracing his lips. The man's voice was husky and quiet but it made Jack grin anyway.

"Yes, grandpa, it's me." he said, feeling his heartbeat quicken with sudden wave of emotions.

"It's good to see you, boy. If only I had known the old man's clumsiness would bring you here..."

"I'm really sorry I didn't come earlier. There are some things, which were keeping me in DC, but that's the topic for another time. I'll be back in a moment, I have to go to the nurses and also call mom that you're awake. We were all very worried."

He went out of the room, going to the nurse and telling her that his grandfather was awake. The woman immediately went to his room, and Jack took out his cell phone and dialled his mother's number. It took her a while to answer, no doubts she was still asleep, Jack knew it took her some time to fall asleep at night, and the confusion that her son was calling her only proved it. She was completely awake the moment he informed her that Samuel woke up and even before she hung up, she started to wake her husband. As he was on his way back to the man's room, he heard his phone ring again and he was sure it was his mother, wanting to ask if they should bring anything, but she saw Sue's name on it instead.

"Hello." he said, and smiled slightly at the sound of Emily's squeal in the background. He was sure that even though his wife was back home, Crash had to still be there and occupying the child.

"Hi, Jack. I know you've been calling me, but I turned off my phone and completely forgot to turn it on..." he heard the hint of embarrassment in her voice, and he was sure that if he was standing in front of her, her cheeks would be slightly pink.

"It's okay, Sue." he watched the doctor walk out of his grandfather's room and going in his direction, and sighed. "Look, I'll call you later, okay? There's something I need to talk to you about but I'm at the hospital now and can't really talk..."

"Of course, call me when you can."

Jack talked to the doctor for a moment, very relieved to hear that now that his grandfather was awake it all looked much more positively. Soon his mother arrived along with his father, but the nurses were strict and didn't allow for all of them to stay for long. Elisabeth didn't hesitate to send Jack home and even though he wasn't very eager to agree, he quickly realised that fighting her had absolutely no sense.

He only found the opportunity to call Sue after dinner. The moment he stepped into the house his nephews wanted to play with him, and he was happy to spend some time with them. He went upstairs to his room, which was the only place where he could have some peace and dialled her number. It was an even better moment as it was also the time when Emily should still be napping, so Sue would have an opportunity to really talk with him, without splitting her attention. She wasn't at all surprised, when he asked her why his parents had no idea about anything, and even though he tried to do it as carefully as possible, so she wouldn't think he was accusing her of something, he realised that it had absolutely no sense. After all, she couldn't hear him and the words weren't going to show his emotions, so he stopped her the moment he heard her start justifying herself.

"Sue, I really don't blame you or anything, I just want to know what and why."

"It's not like you have a reason to blame me. Your parents didn't come to the funeral that was held, so I decided to go to Wisconsin. You can ask Bobby, he didn't want to let me go alone so he accompanied me."

Jack was speechless. His parents didn't mention that Sue has ever been there, quite the contrary they all claimed to have never seen her. As much as he didn't have the reason not to believe them, he also knew that Sue wouldn't lie to him, not about something as important as this. Was it possible that his family just didn't realise it was her when she come, and dismissed her? It didn't seem likely, especially that he gave them a picture of her too, and they would recognise her for sure. But, when Sue started to explain everything further, it all became clear to him.

_Flashback_

_ She didn't have to think a lot to make a decision, that coming to DC was something she had to do. Yes, she wasn't in the best of situations; she knew that Jack mentioned to his parents that they were in a relationship, but she was also sure that the Hudsons had no idea their son had gotten married. She was horribly afraid that if she showed up at their doorstep, six months pregnant, claiming that she was their son's wife and the child she was carrying was Jack's, they're going to assume she was a cheat. The truth was that she wouldn't be able to blame them, because it wasn't usual that the parents didn't even know who their child was marrying. This was, however, the best thing she could do, for Jack and for their baby. She had no doubts that he would want his family to know their child, and Sue wanted it as well. They were its family too, and keeping it away from them wasn't an option even if she would have to make an idiot of herself first. _

_ It was Bobby, who thought that she could always take the marriage certificate as a proof, that she wasn't lying. She was surprised, when he showed up at her apartment, helping her plan the trip because just a day before he was convincing her that maybe it would be better for he to wait until the baby is born. But Sue was adamant, and he must have realised that there was no way to talk her out of going, so he decided to go with her. There was no way he was going to let her go there alone, and his company would have an additional advantage, because he has met Jack's parents, when they decided to visit their son in DC. He expected her to start fussing that it wasn't needed, that she could go by herself, but she didn't. The truth was that the thought of someone going with her was making her feel better, even if not any less nervous. _

_ The journey to Wisconsin wasn't long, but it still managed to tire her quite much, and Levi wasn't making it any easier with his dislike of flying. It was an evening so they decided to check in the hotel and go to Jack's hometown in the morning but it turned out it wouldn't make any difference. On the next day they found themselves standing in front of the house, which according to the address they had, must have been Jack's house. They pressed the doorbell and Bobby claimed he could hear it worked, but nobody came out. There was nobody around, not a single person on the street, and they assumed that it could be due to something happening in town but they didn't notice anything on their way back. They kept coming for two next days, but the results they got were the same, and it came to them that Hudsons had to be away. But what happened to the rest of the people? _

_ On their last attempt they finally had more luck. Even though it wasn't the person they would love to see, they were approached by Allie as they stood on the porch. They haven't seen each other for quite some time, only after Jack's heart attack, but they had no problems with recognising her – she didn't change much. She was surprised to see them, but politely explained to them that they chose the worst possible moment to visit Jack's parents. She told them that even though most of the time at least one of the Hudsons stays at home, the anniversary of Jack's grandmother's death was the time of the year when they were going to the town, where was the graveyard she was buried at. It was Samuel Mayfield's condition, under which he agreed to come and live with Jack's parents. _

_ "They should be back by the end of the week." she said and Bobby exchanged glances with Sue. They couldn't stay that long. Allie must have sensed it, because she immediately added: "If you want, you can leave me your phone number and I'll tell them you were here, and to contact you." _

_ "I would appreciate it very much." Sue has never really felt any positive feelings towards Allie, quite the contrary. She knew that her sudden showing up at the hospital took Sue a chance to take care of Jack, and maybe starting something more serious with him back then. She has never admitted it to anyone, but she felt really jealous of the woman. Right now, however, it was coming to her that meeting her could turn out to be very helpful. _

_ "I'd say it's very good to see that you and Jack finally decided to stop fooling yourself, Sue, but under this circumstances... I think I'm sorry for your loss is more suited..."_

_ Sue and Bobby left, and Allie stood there, watching them disappear from her sight and for a moment longer. When she was in DC after Jack's heart attack, she didn't have any problems with sensing that the connection between him and Sue wasn't what they both claimed to be. Only when she thought about it later, it was obvious that the two were far from being only friends, even though the circumstances were preventing them from pursuing any possible relationship. But even before she felt jealous of the woman, and finally decided that it wasn't going to work out between them if he was so attracted to Sue. Even though she never had the opportunity to tell him, she felt happy for them and thanks to Elisabeth's words she was sure, that the decision to remain just friends was the best one. She was glad he was happy, and now couldn't help but feel sad; she knew that he wanted to have children, even if he was willing to sacrifice this dream for her. And now, that he was going to have one, he was gone. Life was horribly unfair._

_End of flashback._

He tried not to show it during his talk to Sue, but he was getting more and more angry as she continued. As much as he understood the unfortunate coincidence, that she came to Wisconsin during the only time of the year when there was nobody at the house, he couldn't understand why his parents didn't know about anything if she met Allie. He knew that with lack of contact from his parents, Sue had to assume they didn't want to have anything to do with her and Emily, so she wouldn't try to reach out to them again. But why didn't Allie tell them anything? He knew she was angry at Sue after they definitely broke up, even though she never mentioned her name, Jack was sure she was the person Allie had in mind, when she told him they weren't going to work as long as she was in his life. He never suspected she would be capable of keeping an information like this from his parents, no matter how much she disliked Sue.

He groaned, hiding his face in his pillow. It was all a huge mess.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** I have to admit I don't really like this chapter. It was quite difficult to write, so maybe that's why. Anyway, I hope you're going to like this chapter, this one finally gives you the full view of why the Hudsons didn't know anything. It also shows Allie's _reasons_, and I believe you may find yourself be much less mad at her than at the end of the previous chapter. I don't know if you're going to like this news, but there will be some Jack and Sue interaction in the next chapter. Now, enjoy!

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Jack watched his parents carefully as he told them everything he got to know from Sue. He couldn't let them believe that it was her fault, that they had no idea about anything and the moment he had the opportunity, he decided to talk to them. He believed they should know the truth, not blame someone, who was completely not responsible for the whole situation. The moment he told them it was Allie, who kept everything away from them, he noticed them exchange a look. He had difficulties recognising the emotions in their eyes but he was sure that they had to have troubles believing the woman could do something like this.

They've known Allie since they were babies. Her family lived in the house right next to theirs and they always were friends, but having children the same age only brought them closer together. Jack and Allie later drifted apart, him preferring the company of boys and her playing with girls and were brought closer again only when they found themselves in the same class at school. Jack knew that his parents, his mother especially, always liked Allie very much, and they were happy when he was dating her, hoping they would one day get married. And even though he was certain that they accepted that it's never going to happen, it would still be difficult for them to believe she could hide such a thing from them. He would understand it perfectly, because it was exactly the same way he felt, but he realised that those weren't doubts he was seeing in their eyes. It looked more like they suddenly understood everything, and he was completely lost.

"Don't be angry, Jack... You can't blame her for not telling us..." Elisabeth finally spoke, her voice quiet.

"How can I not be angry? How can I not blame her? It's her fault you had no idea about my family! What reason could she have to justify keeping them away from you?!" exclaimed Jack, staring at his parents in disbelief.

Elisabeth glanced at the clock, then at her husband, who nodded and later at her son. She stood up and gestured with her hand to follow her. She led him upstairs and then to her and Charles' room, which was the one to have the best view on Willinghams' house and garden. Jack still didn't understand what she meant by it but it soon became clear. To be specific, when the door to the house opened and he saw Mr. Willingham walk out of the house, pushing a wheelchair in front of himself. Jack's eyes widened and mouth opened, when he realised that the person sitting in it was nobody other than his friend and ex-girlfriend. She looked thinner, her hair was shorter, but he had no doubts it was her. He let out a breath and looked at his mother, trying to ask her how it happened but his voice got stuck in his throat.

"She was ran over by the car... I didn't witness it, I only knew something happened after I heard a scream and noises outside... The story, however, quickly spread around the town... She left her house telling her parents she is going to us, because she has something very important to talk to us about. How long is the distance she had to walk, fifty metres? Elstons' children were playing outside, Cheryl, their mother, was talking to someone and suddenly she realised that her three year old daughter was standing on the street and looking at the car, which was approaching very fast. Allie must have heard her scream or saw the girl herself, but she ran onto the street and pushed her away, getting hit instead. The driver tried to stop the car, but his speed was just too high. She saved the child's life, getting paralysed and losing her memory as a result..."

"She has lost her memory?"

"Yes, she didn't even know who she is when she woke up. It has never returned, from what Mrs. Willingham says she has flashes every now and then but she doesn't recognise people nor places... She didn't tell her parents why she was going to us... She only said that it's kind of a family matter... Now I think I should have realised that was it when you first mentioned your Sue and Emily, but it just didn't cross my mind... Anyway, as you see, you can hardly blame her for anything, Jack..."

He nodded, the anger he felt completely gone. He couldn't know it before, but it was true, it was a difficult thing to blame Allie for anything in a situation like this. Especially, that if his mother's – and obviously father's, too – thoughts were right, she was on her way to tell them about Sue's visit as it all happened. The only certain thing was that placing a blame for anyone was completely useless, because everything was a matter of a past and couldn't be changed. Yet, he felt absolutely horrible that he was so angry at Allie for keeping the information from them. In comparison to what happened to her, the matter of his family having no idea about Sue and Emily seemed absolutely fiddling.

His eyes moved again to the brunette outside, now focused on the book she was reading. It was breaking his heart to watch her like this; her disability aside, he couldn't imagine how difficult it must be to live with no memory of your own life, and getting to know it like it was some kind of a story. Also, he remembered her as an energetic, cheerful person and judging by her interaction with her father, this woman seemed to be gone. It was true that they didn't part on the best terms, but even though their relationship didn't work out she was still the first woman he has ever loved, even if this feeling was just a tiny part of what he learnt to be a true love; he still thought about her as about his friend and cared for her.

He learned that his observations were very right, when he went to visit her. His mother was scared when he so suddenly informed her that he is going there, but calmed down when he explained that he just wanted to visit his friend, nothing more. Mrs. Willingham was a little surprised to see him there, but let him in anyway. He noticed her cold attitude towards him, and how cautiously she was watching him as she led him to the garden, interrupting her daughter's reading.

"Allie, you have a guest." she said, gesturing towards Jack with her hand and he smiled slightly. "This is Jack Hudson, you two used to be friends since childhood."

"Oh, hi." Allie looked at Jack with a small, polite smile on her face and watched her mother leave them alone. "I'm afraid that I can't really remember you... Your face looks familiar, I must have seen you on some picture from my youth..."

"Even more than one picture, we had quite a lot of them taken together." he said, feeling awkwardly. It was a strange situation, and he had absolutely no idea what to say and managed to finally stutter this.

"Did you, by any chance, have long hair in the past?" Jack closed his eyes, wincing, feeling his cheeks burn at the question.

"Don't even mention it... How could I keep it that way? No wonder my mom always complained and threatened me to cut it in my sleep if I don't do something with it!" he chuckled, feeling embarrassed at the thought of what kind of image of him Allie had to recall and the woman grinned.

They chatted for a moment, about the most casual topics that were only possible. It was very uncomfortable for Jack, he was talking with someone, who used to be one of the people who knew him best, yet the person in front of him was like a stranger. It was the same way for Allie, and he knew that it didn't matter for her what was in the past, he could be as well just a random person and it wouldn't make any difference for her. It was so difficult to believe, and yet, very true.

"I guess you're either wondering how it must be for me to live with no recollection of my past, or how it must be to meet people, who claim to be my friends and have no idea if they're telling the truth." she said, waving her hand in front of him, getting him out of his thoughts. It was only in that moment, that he realised he has been staring at her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." he looked down, sheepishly.

"What was that?" she asked and it made him look up, completely taken aback by her question. "Oh, you made a strange movement with your fist, like drew a circle on your chest, but I guess it was..."

"Ah, this!" he interrupted, moved his hand just like Allie described, and noticed her nod. "It means sorry in sign language... I was told that I often subconsciously do it when I apologize..."

They didn't have a chance to talk much longer; Mrs. Willingham came out to inform her daughter what hour it was and remind her of a meeting she had. Even though she didn't say anything, he knew that it was also means as a very subtle hint that it was time for him to go. He watched the woman help Allie get back into the house, wondering at the same time how it was possible for a woman, who was always so open, kind and warm towards him to change so much. Or maybe this cold attitude was meant specifically for him, but what has he done to deserve it?

"Don't take my wife's behaviour to yourself, Jack." he heard Mr. Willingham's voice. He looked at the man surprised; it was like he has just read his thoughts. "She's very cautious when people come to visit Allie... At least when it comes to her friends from before the accident... Well, most of them has never come, but those who did... Let's say that a bigger part of them didn't react the way you did."

"I see..."

"Yes, I guess it shows who was her real friend and who wasn't... Anyway, I always knew you're a good person and wouldn't make any strange scene, reproaching her for not remembering anything..."

"How could I, Sir? It's not even her fault, I am more to blame for this than she!" Jack sighed, seeing the questioning look in Mr. Willingher's eyes. Of course, the man had no idea what he was talking about. "The family matter she wanted to talk to my parents about, when she left the house that day... It was concerning me, very much."

"Don't think about it this way, you're not responsible for what happened. If it was anyone's fault, it was the driver's. If the man wasn't driving with a crazy speed, but with the allowed one, he would have time to stop the car seeing that there was someone on the street."

The man was right and Jack knew it, but there was still a sense of guilt in him. The truth was, that it all started with this ridiculous idea to keep his relationship with Sue a secret for some time, so they wouldn't have leave their jobs. It was since this moment, that everything seemed to take a turn for the worst; if they've made it public since the beginning, they would have never been discovered and he'd have never left. Anything, what was a result of it wouldn't have happened and everything would be the way it used to be. If he was given the chance to change it all, he would do it without a second of hesitation, but it wasn't possible. They all had to live with the consequences, and take the life the way it was now. And it seemed that there were much more changes than he would have ever thought.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** It took me a little longer to write this chapter than I expected but I was struggling a little with the ending... I can only hope you're going to like it. :D

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Sue knew it was going to be a long day from the moment she woke up. Eighteenth of June, the anniversary of one of the most wonderful moments in her life, when she could finally see and hold her baby in her arms. It didn't matter that it was preceded by fourteen long hours of being in pain, a lot of days of experiencing all the not so wonderful sides of being pregnant, and weeks of worry, that she isn't going to be able to be a good mother, to raise this child to be a good person, let alone by herself. In all this horrible time, since she was informed that her husband has most probably died, this day brought the light back into her life in the shape of a tiny human, who she loved more than anything else in the world.

She didn't prepare much of a party for Emily, but she still invited her team to spend the afternoon all together. She was aware it was the middle of a week, but they all promised to come if they won't get any new case, because they closed their last one the day before. They were all like a family for her and her daughter, and despite them coming with companions, now with Jack being back it was going to be _almost_ like during the old good times, before it was all destroyed.

Everyone was starting to gather, Emily and Levi were running to alert her of the doorbell every while. First to arrive was, of course, Myles. Sue swallowed, remembering the huge puzzle, way inappropriate gift for a one year old child, he decided to give her daughter for her previous birthday. She was afraid to think what Harvard got this year, not to mention the price. She could only be glad that he didn't spend a lot of time with Emily, otherwise he'd give her everything she wanted. Much to Sue's surprise, out of all of her friends, it was Leland that was spoiling the girl the most. The fact was, that they were all shocked by his attitude towards the child, who he seemed to like very much, enjoy spending time with – from time to time, not too much – and, who liked him.

"Anything else I could help you with, Sue?" he asked, after they transported the table and chairs from the kitchen to the living room and he greeted Emily, who soon ran to her room to get something to show him.

"Well, you could occupy my daughter, so she's not running to me every minute."

"Uncle Myles, come!" could be heard coming from Emily's room just few seconds later and a small smirky smile appeared on Myles' face.

"I think it's settled."

It was difficult for Sue to hide her surprise, when she opened the door a while later to see Bobby and Darcy. They've gotten back together around the same time, when Jack was pronounced dead. It was like they were connected again by fate, walking onto each other by accident on the second day after the journalist returned to DC, and even though they weren't sure it was a good idea at first, eventually started dating again. Nobody had any doubts that it was Darcy, who helped Bobby get over the loss of his best friend, and it was one of the main reasons why they didn't emphasise how much they were reproaching her for leaving Manning in the first place. It was quite a shock for Sue to see the two of them so early. The only time Crash was always on time was when he came to babysit, but other than that it wasn't usual for him to be on time, no matter how much his girlfriend tried to change it. It seemed, however, that she was able to influence his choice of gift, because Sue didn't notice any huge, plush Australian animal, like the kangaroo he has gotten her last year.

They were very soon followed by Lucy, grinning from ear to ear at the sight of Emily dressed in the very same dress, which she saw in the shop, fell in love with and just had to buy. The girl loved it as well and there was no way of talking her out of putting it on for her birthday party, but Sue didn't even try to, because she thought it was beautiful, too. She didn't, however, like that all of her friends were drowning her daughter in all kind of gifts, Lucy and Bobby the most, but there was nothing she could do to stop them, as they didn't want to listen to her. She could only accept it and make sure, that Emily won't end up horribly spoiled by getting so many things.

"I completely forgot to call you earlier, but D. asked me to apologize for not informing you in person and also apologize, that he and Donna won't come today. It seems he got an unexpected visit from his parents-in-law."

"Too bad! But if it's a longer visit, then it's better he won't make his in-laws mad on the first day!"

Some time later the sound of the doorbell spread through the apartment again, and when Sue opened, she saw Tara standing there with her fiancé. Michael was an economist, who few years earlier opened a company with his siblings. It didn't have anything to do with his education, but he was the one responsible for the financial side of running it. The whole idea wasn't a big success and didn't make them rich, but it was good enough to allow them a proper living. Tippy met him by accident, after she and Stanley decided that their relationship isn't going to work and it also became clear, that she and Bobby didn't have a future together. She couldn't, however, be more happy because of this turn of events, and she was quite sure that Mike was finally the one for her. She's never felt so happy before and was really glad that her friends liked him as well.

"And where is the star of the evening?" asked Mike, when they got further into the apartment and Sue gestured her hand towards the door of the living room. Emily, seeing that someone arrived, came running to them.

"She was a real star of the evening, when she jumped out of her mommy two years ago." stated Bobby and Sue snorted.

"Jumped out, huh?" she looked at Crash with her eyebrows raised. "I wish she had, instead of putting me through fourteen longest, the most painful hours of my life!"

"And my hand's as well. I can still feel your grip on it, Sue." added Lucy, curling her hand into a fist and then uncurling it, pushing the fingers as far apart as she could, wincing in fake pain. "But you can't say it wasn't worth it."

"Oh, it definitely was." Sue smiled, leaned down to place a kiss on top of Emily's head, and tousled her hair a little.

"Can we eat the cake, now?" the girl asked, looking at her mother with innocent eyes and making everyone laugh.

"I'm sorry, Honey, not yet." Emily sighed, but caught Tara's hand, trying to pull her to her bedroom, wanting to show her the picture she drew.

"Is Jack coming?" asked Bobby, when they disappeared from their view.

He knew that it was better not to mention Sparky in front of Emily, so she wasn't going to turn sad. It was obvious that she became very attached to her father, and was missing him greatly. It was breaking Sue's heart to hear the question if he was going to come to her every morning, only to have to tell her that he won't because he still didn't come back. He did call her yesterday evening, to inform her that he was going back to DC and his plane was scheduled to arrive there at around the time of a party, so he will try to make it, even if being a little late, unless there will be some delays with the flight. It was something she didn't tell Emily, wanting her to have a surprise.

"I think so. I didn't get any text message from him and he didn't call me that he isn't, so I assume he will come."

And indeed, he did appear. He was almost half an hour late, and it was clear at first sight that he was quite tired, but it wasn't going to prevent him from attending his daughter's birthday party. Sue watched him carefully as he stepped into the apartment; she could see that the few days he spent in Wisconsin weren't easy for him.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, and Jack only managed to nod, because as soon as Emily turned to look who arrived, and her eyes landed on Jack, everything else was forgotten and a huge smile lit up her face.

"JACK!" she exclaimed and ran to him.

He smiled and crouched just in time to catch her, lift her into the air and swirl her, eliciting a squeal and giggles from her. Only then he hugged her tightly and sat her on his hip, seeing that she didn't want to move from his arms, at least for now. He walked with her to the living room, and greeted everyone else. It was difficult for him to hide his surprise at the sight of Bobby's companion, but one look at his friend was enough to prevent him from making any, even the most innocent comment. Crash didn't know how it happened, but it dawned on him that he never told Jack that he and Darcy were back together. He could see, that Jack wasn't delighted with the idea.

"It's good to see you again, Jack." she said and he smiled politely before turning to Michael, who was watching him curiously.

"You must be Tara's fiancé?" asked Hudson, and the man nodded. "Jack Hudson, it's nice to finally meet you. And congratulations, of course." he extended his hand and Mike shook it.

"Michael Keeler. And I'm pleased to finally meet you as well, I heard quite a lot about you from all of them."

"Only the bad things, of course, Sparky." added Bobby, and Mike's eyes widened.

"They call you Sparky?" he asked and Jack nodded, a little surprised. Of all the things, he expected it to be one of those stories they would share with him, and it seemed they didn't. "So this is where they got Miss Sparky from!"

"Miss Sparky? Seriously?" Jack looked at Crash, having no doubts that he had to be the one to think of it and Manning just shrugged.

"It fits, Emily likes it, and even Myles started to use it! Come on, Sparks, don't be selfish and share your daughter with us!"

They didn't even notice Sue slip out of the room, only when she returned with a small cake she baked for Emily, with two candles put on top of it. The girl clasped her hands, happy that the time for it finally came and easily blew both candles after they all sang "Happy Birthday" to her. Despite Bobby's efforts, she didn't want to part with Jack and ended up sat on his knees when they all took their places behind the table.

"So, you and Darcy are back together?" asked Jack, when he and Bobby were both standing in the corner of a room, while everyone else was occupied by something different. "Are you sure it's a good idea?"

"Yes, I am." stated Crash firmly, glancing in his girlfriend's direction. "I know that you only want to make sure she's not going to hurt me again, but I forgave her and decided to give her a second chance. And you happen to be the last person, who can tell me it's not the right thing to do." he gestured towards Sue with his head, and Jack nodded. His friend was right, how could he tell Bobby that he shouldn't have done it, if he was trying his best so Sue would do the same for him.

Their attention was soon drawn elsewhere, as the time to open the presents was announced. Emily was running around, giving hugs and kisses, thanking everyone after tearing the decorative paper, revealing the secret of what she has gotten. The first thing she unwrapped were few small activity books from Bobby and Darcy, packed along with a plush koala bear. Sue shook her head, smiling, but was glad it was at least quite small in comparison to the kangaroo.

"I couldn't stop myself." grinned Crash.

There was also a beautiful set of earrings, silver flowers with pink petals from Myles, a book with tales from Tara and Michael, a baby-like doll from Lucy and blocks with letters from Jack. They were all surprised to see that there seemed to be no gift from Sue, but she explained that she has bought her a lamp with a picture of the Lion King, as Emily refused to go to sleep without a light. The previous one was completely destroyed by Levi, and because of it Sue's gift was already in use.

"Looks like someone is worn out." stated Tara some time later, looking at Emily, who was dozing off, cuddled to Bobby.

"And it also seems like time for me to go..." added Myles, and was followed by the rest. If it was during the weekend, they would be staying longer but almost all of them had to go to work on the next morning.

"I'll put her to bed." offered Jack, taking very sleepy Emily from Sue and walked with her to her bedroom.

He changed her into her pyjamas, and the moment the girl's head touched the pillow, she was completely off and Jack tucked her in, kissing her forehead and walking out. He noticed, that everyone was already gone and Sue was walking around, cleaning. He started to help her, despite her protests, and thanks to this everything was taken care of much quicker.

"How is your grandfather?" she asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence, which fell between them after they finished.

"As fine as can be expected. He's well enough to kick me out and order to go back here to celebrate my daughter's birthday. He's still quite weak, though."

She offered a smile, and squeezed his hand. She could see it didn't really make him feel better; it could go unnoticed by everyone else, but she knew he was putting a facade not to show just how worried he still was. She surprised him by wrapping her arms around him and pulling him closer, and few seconds later felt him give in and embrace her tightly. He let his emotions get out, for the first time in way longer time than she even realised. It was a long while later, that he hesitantly moved away from her, looking at her with love practically radiating from his eyes.

"Thank you." he whispered and gently cupped her face with his hand, tenderly caressing her cheek with his thumb. Sue felt like she was mesmerized, unable to move her eyes away from his or say anything. Her eyes widened, when she realised his face was slowly moving towards hers, and she subconsciously parted her lips slightly, only to feel his lips brush her cheek, placing a kiss there. "Goodnight, Sue."

It was like her mind didn't record him walking out of the room, and then leaving the apartment. She stood in the place for a moment before she came around and realised, that he was no longer there. She locked the door, went to check on Emily, and then to her own bedroom, to prepare for the night. She sat on the bed and lifted her hand to her face, her fingertips touching the place, where she could still feel the kiss on. She couldn't help but felt disappointed and frustrated, that he just kissed her cheek. It was far from being an usual peck, but a part of her yearned to feel his lips on hers, his hands caressing her... She groaned, closing her eyes and pushing the thoughts away. What it was about Jack Hudson, that she seemed to be completely unable to resist his charm, no matter how much she would want to?


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Another uptade, yippie. The longest chapter so far, but it just didn't feel right to cut it anywhere. I hope you will going to enjoy it! :D

**_mjentrn_ **- You want me to tell you if there is hope for Jack and Sue... Hope is always there, especially that I am a J/S shipper... Anyway, it's a nice place for you to ask for this, as I think this chapter is going to be the best answer for you :)

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_She was, yet again, standing in front of him, still feeling the tight grip of his arms around her. She didn't expect such a reaction, but she could feel that he let his guards go down and if it was going to make him feel better, she could only be glad. Not, that she minded standing in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder, his so familiar scent present all around her. She missed him, and up to this moment she didn't even know just how horribly and the truth was, she took a lot of comfort from this hug as well. The difference was, however, that he didn't only kiss her cheek. He did move away, but only to look at her and see how much she desired more and give it to her with no hesitation. His lips felt so good against hers, his hands waking up every nerve in her body as they were gently caressing her. She parted her lips, when she felt the tip of his tongue move along them and moaned, when their tongues met. She wrapped her arms around his neck and closed any distance that was between them, pressing her body against him, melting into his arms as they encircled her. They were both panting heavily, when the kiss came to an end because of lack of air, and she held onto him when she felt his mouth move along her jaw, then down to her neck. She felt like she would fall if it wasn't for his grip; she was completely at his mercy and he could do anything to her, all he had to do was claim her. And he intended to do so; her reaction was more than he'd dare to expect, and he was going to show her just how much he loved, missed, wanted and needed her. And he did._

A smile automatically made its way to her face, when she was starting to slowly wake up. She stretched slightly, and moved a little in order to snuggle into him, subconsciously expecting his to feel his body there. She was a little startled when she didn't, the only thing she touched was a pillow and she hid her face in it, realising that it was all a dream. Of course it was, how could it not? It wasn't the first time she dreamt about him, but it was the first time it was so passionate and realistic. She could practically feel his kisses, his touch on her skin, his body pressed against her as if it all really happened, instead of being a creation of her imagination, or maybe subconsciousness, as she did make love with him and knew what it was like. Her stomach clenched with guilt; she was in a relationship with one man, was wanting another and she wasn't repelled by it, quite the contrary, she felt disappointed when she realised it was only a dream.

She was lying there, enjoying the fact that she had a day off and didn't have to move from the bed yet, for as long as Emily was still asleep. She could, however, think and it was no surprise for her that her thoughts were drifting back to Jack, she had a true mess in her head. The truth was, that she didn't know what to think anymore. One side of her was adamant that she couldn't allow herself to fall back in love with him, how could she know that he wasn't going to go away and break her heart again, and also Emily's. It didn't matter that he left because they both agreed to, it wasn't a case; when he had a choice, he decided to stay away instead of going back to her, obviously choosing something else over her. On the other hand, there was this side of her that made her doubt everything she was convinced of. Would he disappear again and hurt their daughter, who she could see he loved very much, and whose heart he was fighting to win? Would he even bother, if he didn't really care for her? She didn't think so; she knew Jack well enough that when it came to love, he was quite simple. There was nothing in between for him; he was either in or out, with his whole heart, so he wouldn't put a show to pretend that he cared. Also, there was a matter of _why_ he decided to stay away; the truth was, she never really gave him a chance to explain his reasons to her. What if he didn't really have a choice, and staying away was the only right decision he could make? She sighed; the more she wondered about it, the more convinced she was that it had to be the case. She knew him, quite well she thought, and she knew that he would do everything for those he cared for, even if it would force him to make a big sacrifice. What if she was holding a grudge against him for completely wrong reasons, and it should be him, angry at her for treating him this way?

This part of her wanted her to forgive him, to give him a chance to prove that he indeed cared very much and wasn't going to hurt them. She had to admit, that she was starting to think that no matter how much she wanted to deny it, it seemed that she didn't move on as completely as she thought. He still had this power over her, and was able to make her melt with a simple look, smile or touch; perhaps being so adamant about not falling for him again had no real sense, because she never really stopped loving him, just pushed those feeling away into a deep corner of her heart and now, that he was back, they were getting out from there? There was also Emily; didn't she deserve to grow up in a full family? Sue could see just how much she enjoyed to spend time with Jack; it came so easily, so naturally for the two to create what she believed was a very strong bond and she was starting to think of him as about her dad. It was really difficult for her to believe, her daughter never bonded easily with newly met people, and after watching Trevor's efforts, she was only more surprised.

Of course, there was also Trevor. She cared about the man very much, he was the final push for her to accept what happened and try to look for happiness in life without Jack, which she earlier thought was impossible. Yet, she couldn't think about entering something really serious with him if Emily didn't accept the man. No matter what, her daughter was always going to be the most important for her, and the girl was nowhere near being even eager to try and like Trev. Could Lucy's words be right? Could the striking preference of her child be a sign of what would be the right thing to choose?

She talked to her best friend because she thought it was going to help her stop the conflict inside her, but it didn't really work. In fact, it made her even more confused and have more doubts. Before, she thought that she should keep Jack as far from her as possible, but it wasn't very easy with him spending a lot of time with their daughter. And, most definitely, she wasn't going to forbid him to come to her, the last thing she wanted to watch was miserable Emily, her unhappiness caused by the lack of his visits. Now, she wasn't sure her thinking was right anymore and she was starting to allow herself to think of considering returning to Jack. Wouldn't it be worth giving it a try, even if only for Emily, so she could have a childhood she deserved? Maybe in time, she would find out for sure that her feelings for him are indeed still there, and she'd be able to be happy with him, after learning to trust him again? But that meant she would have to finish things with Trevor, and she wasn't convinced she wanted it. She cared for him, and even though she knew Lucy's words were true, that their relationship didn't have a serious future, she felt really good with him. She knew he cared about her too, and she knew that if she chose to break up with him, she'd hurt him and she didn't want to do it. In fact, she had absolutely no idea what she wanted to do, with anything.

She startled, when she suddenly felt an additional weight appear on the bed right next to her, and was about to shout to Levi to get down, when she realised that the weight was too small for Levi, and it wasn't him, coming to her to wake her up. She opened her eyes to see her daughter climbing onto the bed and lifted the edge of the duvet, so she'd slip under it. The girl, still very sleepy and not fully awake, snuggled close to her. Sue smiled, brushing her hair away from her face and kissing her forehead. She really loved morning like this, when she could just stay in bed as long as she wanted and later enjoy the company of her daughter, when the girl would wake up and come to her to cuddle. They didn't happen often, she was usually up well before Emily but it only made her love them more. Yet, this time, she seemed to have a wonderful timing and Sue eagerly welcomed the distraction from all the thoughts going around in her head.

For Jack, on the other hand, dreaming about Sue was something he got really used to. She was in his dreams almost every night for few years now, and just the simple fact of another dream didn't wake any thoughts in him. Yes, he has thought about what happened between them on Emily's birthday and also before his leaving to Wisconsin. In both those moments she allowed her guard to go down and a glimpse of what he caught was warming his heart and giving him hope. Yet Sue decided to completely ignore it, like nothing happened at all. He wanted to mention it, to ask her what she thought about it, hoping to see her feelings and know if he wasn't being stupid with holding onto the hope. But he didn't want to push her; he wanted to give her space, as much of it as she needed, so he just let it be, at least for now.

He was woken up by the sound of his phone, ringing. He chose to ignore it the first time, covering his head with the pillow, but then it repeated, then once again and he finally reached out to the side, to grab and answer it. He was surprised by hearing Anthony's voice on the other end, as he was convinced his friend forgot about him and Jack wasn't very eager to acknowledge it. Ignoring it, at least for some time, was always giving him more time to fight to get Sue back, as the thought of them getting a divorce was in his mind equal to everything being over. But, it seemed, Anthony remembered very well, didn't contact him because he was quite busy and because he didn't have answers for him, but now he had and wanted to meet. He had some time before having to go to the court, so Jack agreed to come and soon found himself sitting in the chair, opposite his friend, drinking coffee.

"I'm sorry it took me so much time. At first the trial was extending and later, when I made some inquiries, the people didn't know the answer immediately and I had to wait... You know how it is. And, what I can tell you is that to get a divorce, you won't need a lot of effort. As long as you're not going to fight about the custody over your daughter..."

"No, we won't fight about it. I'm fine with it being the way it is now."

"Very well. Then it's a formality and all you will have to do is fill the papers, bring them to me and I'll do everything. You'll only get informed about the final decision."

"Just it? No trial, nothing?"

"Yes. As I told you before, during the time you were officially dead, your marriage was legally over. She was a widow, she didn't need to get a divorce. She didn't, but she could get married, and then it would be just an idiotic obstacle, that would need to be dealt with. And I was able to convince the right people that even though you two aren't in this kind of situation, you could be treated the way you would be then. It's going to be easier this way for you."

Jack nodded. He wasn't sure if he wanted it to be easy; the only thing he knew was that he didn't want this divorce at all, but he wasn't going to make problems. If this was what Sue wanted, then he'd just follow. But, it didn't change the fact that his mood wasn't good. As he left Anthony's office with the set of papers they needed, they seemed to be sending him negative waves. Not having decided yet, if he was going to go back to the FBI or think about working somewhere else, he was still on leave, what meant he had a lot of free time, so he decided to go for a walk. A long one, even. The last thing he expected was to feel something collide with his legs, when he was going down the path in his favourite park and small arms trying to encircle him. He glanced down and looked straight into the very familiar face of his daughter, lit up with a huge grin.

The day seemed to be starting as a very beautiful one, and Sue decided that they could as well spend it outside. She knew what reaction she would get from her daughter, and she wasn't wrong at all, as the girl was ecstatic when she suggested a picnic in the park. Sue prepared some food, got everything they needed and along with Levi, they left the apartment to go to their favourite spot. There wasn't a lot of people there, it was Friday after all and most of them were either at work or at school. She spread the blanket on the grass and watched Emily run around with Levi, but close enough for her to watch them.

She was surprised when Emily suddenly started to wave, as if she noticed someone. Sue looked around, but didn't see any familiar face and the girl chose the exact same moment to run in the person's direction. She shouted after her, but the child either didn't hear or ignored her and as fast as she could, she got up, ordered Levi to stay and started running after her. She was faster than Emily, but she wasn't able to catch her before the girl ran into someone. Sue, focusing on her daughter's figure didn't really look who the person was, but when she raised her eyes and noticed it was Jack, sighed with relief.

"Emily Jackie Hudson!" she still said, her voice raised and stern. "How many times do I have to tell you not to run away like this?!"

"But.. Emily saw Jack and wanted to say hi..!"

"Mommy is right, you shouldn't have run to me like this. You should have waved or called out." Jack crouched, so his face was about the same level as the girl's.

"I did..!"

"Then you should have gone to your mommy and ask if you can go to me. But you should never run away like this, okay?" Emily pouted, and it looked like she wanted to argue, but nodded her head. "Now, go to mommy and say sorry."

She watched him, a little mesmerised. She had to admit, that even though it's been a while now since he came back, she didn't have a chance to see him in such a situation. She was even a little surprised at how he seemed to get to their daughter. She was a stubborn creature, and often made a scene when told that she did something wrong, but this time, she didn't. Instead, she just went to Sue and moved her fist on her chest, gave her a hug and a kiss, like she always did when apologising to her mom.

"So, what are the two of you doing here?" asked Jack with a small smile and Emily caught his hand, pulling him towards the place where they had the blanked placed.

"Picnic!" she shouted "You too!"

He looked at Sue, to ask if he should agree and join them. She shrugged with a smile, leaving it up to him so he picked Emily up and sat her on his shoulders, making her squeal with happiness. It seemed Sue had nothing against him sharing their time, so why shouldn't he join? It turned out to be an excellent idea and all of them had a really great time. It was the first time Emily got the chance to spend some time with both of her parents at once, as during Jack's visit, Sue was keeping away to give them some time one-on-one, and it was obvious she was delighted. For people walking around, they looked like a little, happy family, enjoying a nice day and nobody would even suspect that something wasn't right between Sue and Jack. In fact, they spent the whole day in the exactly same way as Jack always imagined how everything should be between them and he didn't want it to end.

But it had to and he felt very reluctant to walk them home in the evening. Even though Sue planned to spend only some time in the park, it all ended with them being out the whole day. Now it was the time to go back; it was starting to get a little cool and dark and Emily was soundly asleep, cuddled to Jack. The distance wasn't long, but they didn't even know where the time passed as they were walking, chatting, just like they used to do in the past. The only difference was the child in his arms, but it was a difference neither of them minded. Soon they were in Sue's apartment and Emily was put to bed, not waking up even once as they changed her into pyjamas.

"She was really worn out." she said, when they left the room "Thanks for spending this day with us, it was great."

"The pleasure was all mine. Well, it's time for me. Thanks for letting me join, I don't remember the last time I had so much fun."

"Anytime." she smiled back and they stood there for a moment, just looking at each other.

There was an internal fight in Jack, whether to just leave or maybe give her another little, innocent kiss and eventually decided that the latter won't do any harm. After all, what could he get besides a scolding? Yet, he didn't on the previous evening so he could as well take the risk. If he wanted to win her back, he had to show her that he cared and wanted it, right? So he leaned in, to kiss her cheek again, but then she shocked him – and herself, too- by moving her face towards him and brushing her lips against his. His heart jumped and he cupped her face, holding her close as they shared a gentle, sweet kiss. Both reluctantly moved away, and looked into each other's eyes; he could see that there was an internal battle taking place in her and he only smiled at her, as if to tell her that he was there and willing to wait, give her as much time as she needed. Without a word, he slowly withdrew and walked out with a small smile lingering on his face.

Sue stood there, for a moment longer and sighed. She really enjoyed spending time with both, Emily and Jack, and she was sure that their daughter loved it as well. She took enormous pleasure from watching her, so utterly happy and in that moment she knew, that it was indeed very worth giving a try. It was only later that she noticed an envelope, which Jack has left on the table and opened it. Her face fell when she noticed that there were divorce papers inside and she felt on the edge of tears. During the whole day she became convinced that he was indeed trying to prove to her that she should give him a chance, and she tried to show him that she was quite close to doing it. The look they shared only ensured her in it, but now she didn't know anymore. Could the papers be the sign, that she was misread his feeling so completely?


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** I know, I know, you hate me after the ending of the previous chapter. Your feelings may not change after this one, but the moment, which will change your mind is already written *hums happily*. Unfortunately, it will take me a little time to publish it, but it's always 3200 words of something to wait for! :D Right now I can only hope you're going to enjoy this chapter. :)

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During the whole way to his apartment, he was smiling and humming happily. He had hope earlier, but after the kiss and the look they shared it exploded in him with double, no triple strength. They were only the confirmation of what he thought he was watching during the whole day; that the possibility of having her back wasn't as small as he was afraid. In fact, she looked like she enjoyed their time together with Emily very much and wouldn't have anything against it being this way forever. And he did his best to show her that it was what he wanted, that he loved them both and desired to be a part of her life, too, not only their daughter. And then, when she kissed him, she really didn't look like she regretted her actions, quite the contrary.

It was only when he entered his flat and closed the door behind himself, he realised that something was missing. He had something with him and now he didn't. It dawned on him what he has forgotten and he cursed, hitting the wall with his fist; the envelope with divorce papers! He placed it on the table at Sue's, when they got in and went to put Emily to bed. Then, after the kiss, he completely forgot about them and must have left them there. There was no way she was going to know he did it by accident, and he couldn't tell her that he intended to keep them away from her for some more time. What would she think about him?

His first instinct was to storm out and walk back to her, but it was too late. All the happiness present in him earlier disappeared and was replaced by anger. How could he do such a thing?! It all seemed so good and he managed to completely screw it up! He was certain Sue was going to think that he left them there, because he wanted this divorce, no matter how far it was from being true. He hoped he was so close to getting a chance from her, to convincing her that it was worth trying to make it work, and with this stupid mistake he was back at the beginning or even more.

On his way to her on the next day, he hoped that somehow she didn't find them, that they were going to lie exactly where he's left them, but it was a vain hope. The moment she let him in, he noticed the change in her attitude towards him. There was nothing from the closeness, warmth present between them just on the previous day; instead, the distance and cold was back there. He was furious at himself, how could he be such an idiot?

Sue didn't mention anything, when he came. After another night, which she mostly spent on lying restless in bed, she came to the conclusion that she must have been wrong. Yes, Jack did show her more than few times that he wanted a chance from her, but it wasn't impossible it has changed. He has waited, but he could decide to give up and move on seeing, that she wasn't eager to give in. It had to be it; she had to be too late with his decision, she couldn't expect him to wait for her forever. But the kiss they had... This, on the other hand, was telling her something completely different and the truth was that she had absolutely no idea what to think. She would have to wait and see.

"Is it true you applied for another position?" he asked, trying to think of a topic that would be neutral, but still grant him the opportunity to talk to her. There was nothing worse than this horrible, uncomfortable silence between them.

They were both sitting in the living room, while Emily was – in this particular moment – playing with the blocks by herself. It was only a matter of time before she was going to be bored by playing alone, and would want one of them – most possibly Jack – to join her. Until that happened, however, he wanted to use the opportunity to talk to Sue. He didn't really have a chance during their daughter's birthday party, and he didn't want to touch the topic of work on the previous day. He was, however, curious. He was standing in front of an important decision concerning his career, and he had absolutely no idea what he should do. He wasn't sure if he wanted to resume working in the FBI; it might have been his dream job, he might have loved it but his opinion and also priorities in his life changed. Yet, he wanted to get to know all his options before making a choice, and talked to his supervisor.

It seemed that FBI wanted to keep him very much. Obviously, they thought that his skills and experience were very useful. It flattered him, but he didn't feel like being ecstatic just because the bureau wanted him to keep working for them. He was working in the task force for quite some time, and he also had the opportunity to go onto this assignment. He would rather he didn't go there, then he wouldn't lose Sue, he wouldn't miss any minute of their daughter's life and all the consequences, both professional and personal, just wouldn't be there. These incomplete three years he's lost gave him the only thing he was absolutely sure of – there was no way he was going onto an assignment like this again. He couldn't imagine how Steve could work like this, his whole job was centred around those kind of tasks, but he wasn't going to agree to something like this. It was the first thing he told the supervisor, as well as that he would be the most eager to return to his old task force. This, however, wasn't easy because of Sue; he couldn't be put into the team, which his wife worked in, and it was when he heard about her application. If she was chosen for the position, she would be transferred out of the team and it would allow him to be transferred there. But, as long as they were legally married, and she worked there, he couldn't.

"I did... How do you know?"

"I may be on a longer leave now, but I can't stay on it forever. I consider going back to the FBI, so I asked about my options."

"I see. And yes, I think about a transfer. I actually consider it for a while now, but only lately the opportunity arose. It's a position with a regular working hours, Monday to Friday, less dangerous et cetera. I want this transfer for Emily..."

"I understand."

That would be this from their talk. There was nothing else he could think of saying, and he didn't have time to think about something else, because just like he suspected, Emily demanded company. His focus turned to his daughter, and to his displeasure, he didn't really have an opportunity to talk to her some more. It was a huge contrast to what it looked like between them on Friday, then the chat was natural, about everything and nothing at the same time. Now, there was only tension.

He had no idea if he should be happy, when he got the invitations to the annual ball, held for the second time now by the FBI. It was an event, which was supposed to be a prize for those, whose work was the most appreciated, but Jack suspected it was yet another thing to convince him to stay. There were supposed to be a lot of higher-ups, as well as important people in the country, and it was quite clearly stated that the presence was quite compulsory, even if it wasn't told straight. It was during the weekly meeting with Steve, who was yet to go on another assignment, that the man told him that Hudson's old team was one of those very few, who got the invitation for the second time and it meant that Sue was going to be there. Steve suspected that it was going to make him happy, but Jack knew that there was no chance he would get the possibility to go with her. She would appear there with Trevor, and he would have to spend the evening watching them. On the other hand, perhaps he would get the chance to dance with her, even if only once?

He wasn't sure about it. Two weeks passed and nothing really changed. The distance she put back between them seemed more difficult to get rid of than earlier, and it only made him even more angry at himself. But he wasn't going to give up; he knew that if he ever wanted his life to be happy, he would have to be with Sue again. She was the only person he could think of being with, he loved her more than he ever thought a person can love anyone. Of course, he loved Emily as well, very much, but it was a completely different kind of this emotion. With Sue it was this perfect love everyone was looking for, the time he had the chance to be with her was the best of his life and it was exactly what he yearned to have again. Only with her, his life had the chance to be perfect and he intended to fight for her. At first he thought of giving up, but the way Trevor swaggered around him made him change his mind.

At first he thought about bringing a date to the ball, but eventually ended up going alone. It wasn't that there was nobody, who wanted to go with him; there were days in the FBI, where Jack Hudson was one of those agents, who were known by all the women in the building and the heart-throb of quite a few of them. After the news that he was no longer available spread, it lessened but his reputation was still there. There was no doubts that all it would take to convince someone to go with him, was a little effort on his side, but he didn't want to go. He didn't care if he was going to be called a fool, but there was only one woman he wanted to go with, and if he couldn't have her company, he decided against having a date at all.

"A little smile, even if forced, wouldn't hurt you know? You look like your hamster just died." Jack almost jumped, when he heard Steve's voice behind him.

Hudson had no idea how he did that, but the man had a habit of suddenly appearing out of nowhere, even if he was waiting for him and looking around. This time, however, Jack wasn't really waiting for him, just for any person he actually knew. He knew Steve was going to be there, they were considered like they were one team, so they were both invited.

"I really would rather babysit my daughter right now instead of going to this stupid ball." he admitted, accordingly to the truth anyway.

He really would rather spend the evening with Emily, than be in the room full of people, who he didn't really have any desire to even get to know. He was certain he wasn't going to enjoy it, unless some kind of a miracle happened, but it wasn't highly likely. This miracle would have to involve Sue, and with a corner of his eye he could see her standing some distance away from her with Trevor, Myles and a woman he didn't know, but who obviously was Leland's date. He wasn't paying attention to what was going around him mainly due to the fact, that he was watching her.

Steve's understanding humming was what brought him out of his thoughts, and he realised that he was watching her again. His colleague's eyes were fixed on her as well.

"Now everything's clear. Well, don't torture yourself anymore and let's go inside. Come on."

Jack only sighed in reply and followed him into the building. This was going to be a long night.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **Here is the next update! Thanks for reviews! Hope you're going to enjoy it! :D

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„The wedding was a wonderful event. All the people, who gathered to witness it were rapt and for hundreds of years it was believed to be the most beautiful ceremony the kingdom ever held. The prince and the princess were loved by each other and everyone very much, and lived happily ever after."

Lucy closed the book and looked up, straight into a pair of a sleepy brown eyes. Today was one of those days, when she got the chance to babysit Emily, what wasn't happening often lately. She enjoyed to spend time with her friends' daughter very much, she was a wonderful, adorable child and never caused her any problems. She was always eager to stay with the girl, but recently it was mostly Jack, who Sue called first and he was much more often available than not. Not that Lucy was angry at him, because she believed it was good he spent so much time with his child, but she wouldn't mind to pass a little more time with Emily, like she used to before Hudson's return.

"How great it would be if life was as simple as a fairytale..." she sighed, placing the book on the table and sat on the edge of the bed, stroking the girl's hair. "Maybe your parents wouldn't be so blind then and chose to be together, making everyone happy, themselves and you in the first place." she smiled slightly, seeing Emily's look and even was kind of happy she probably didn't understand what Lucy meant, because she would be repeating everything to her mom then, and Miss Dotson was certain that Sue would be upset with her. "Good night, Sweetie."

"Night, Auntie Lucy."

She tucked in the girl, turned off most of the light and left the room wondering, what was happening on the ball. Even though practically, she was a part of the team, for the higher-ups she was just a rotor and in result, wasn't invited to the event. Not that she minded, but this time she wouldn't mind being there. Perhaps she would be able to make something, what would make Sue and Jack spend some time together, encourage Hudson to ask her to dance or whatever would be possible. She didn't have anything to Trevor, she was sure he was a great guy and she would have supported her friend in the decision to be with him if Jack hadn't returned. But he did, and Lucy has always believed that he was the perfect man for Sue, and the time she watched the two being – finally – in a relationship only proved her right. She also believed that Sue shouldn't have doubts, that she should be with the man she married. If she didn't want to do it for herself, then she should for Emily and in time she would see, that it was the best decision she has ever made. If only Sue wanted to listen to her!

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Sue looked around the room and didn't see Jack, but she knew he was going to be there. It was one of the first things Lucy told her, when their chat moved to the topic of the ball. She wasn't happy about it; she was putting a lot of effort in keeping Jack and Trevor from walking onto each other, and now they weren't only going to be in the same room for few hours, but she was convinced that also in each other's company. There were no doubts that the team will want Jack to accompany them, he was still considered to be one of them, but she wasn't sure it was such a wonderful idea. She wasn't wrong, and the moment Bobby noticed the man, called out for him to join them. And, because there were two spare chairs at their table, one reserved for Michael, who informed them he was going to be late, and one completely unoccupied, Jack took the second one. Sue only wished _she_ sat somewhere else, because as a result, she ended up sitting with Jack on her left and Trevor on her right.

The evening of course started with all the guests' speeches and by the end, most of the people stopped listening to them. Nobody however dared to speak with companions, and when the last one finally took the place and the pseudo stage was taken out, the actual ball began. The first dance was supposed to be danced by every couple in the room and they all started to get up. Sue, however, froze in shock when instead of turning to her, Trevor offered to dance with Tara, since her partner wasn't present, yet. The rest stared at the man like he just grew a second head, Tara probably the most but he seemed to not notice. Myles was just about to say something, when Sue saw Bobby look at Tippy emphatically, almost unnoticeably gesturing his head towards two Hudsons and the woman immediately agreed, when she realised the meaning behind his look. Sue sent the two of them an angry look, which promised them that she'll deal with them later as she couldn't say anything now without making a scene.

She focused so much on them that she completely forgot about Jack, who was still present at her side and almost jumped and gasped, when she felt him touch her arm gently to get her attention.

"Since your date stole the person I intended to ask to dance, perhaps you'd do me the honour?" he offered her a hand, and could see uncertainty in her eyes for a moment, but then her eyes landed on Trevor and Tara and she took it.

They made their way to the dance floor, Jack purposely chose to find a place close to where Sue's boyfriend was and smiled slyly, seeing the surprise in Hartwig's eyes, when he spotted them. He saw Tara tell something to the man, and was pretty sure that the fire that lit up in his eyes was reflecting a wave of hatred, which he felt to him but Jack didn't care. He didn't know if the man was an idiot, or just chose to abandon Sue, convinced that she couldn't dance; what he cared about was that he has just gotten the chance to spend some time one-on-one with her, and it was passed off to him by her boyfriend himself.

"Does he think you can't dance?" Jack couldn't stop himself from asking and Sue rolled her eyes.

The way he was looking at Trev told her, that it was exactly the same side of Jack, which was always coming up when someone underestimated her. He was always very protective over her, and was getting really angry when someone doubted her abilities. It was actually the side of him, which attracted her to him in the first place. Over the years she's met a lot of people, who weren't able to see past her disability, when they got to know about it. Jack was the first one, who not only didn't care about it, but even showed her that the skills she had thanks to this could work for her advantage and let her achieve a lot. It was thanks to him, that she wasn't patronised but considered seriously. But even personally, he's always made her feel special. Everyone always expected her to adjust to the world of hearing people, and he was the first one, who decided to do the same for her. She knew, that he's started learning to sign for her; he didn't need it and he probably wouldn't even be interested in considering it. Yet, there were moments when this protectiveness was annoying her, and it was one of those moments that she wasn't happy with it.

"Okay, okay, I'm silent." he responded to the look she sent him.

They chatted a little, as the music continued, swaying to the rhythm of music. They had no idea that they were watched by their friends, who wouldn't admit it out loud, but were extremely ecstatic that Trevor acted like the biggest fool of the universe. Even Tara, who had this misfortune to dance with Hartwig, and he turned out to be even worse dancer than she was, constantly stepping on her feet and not even caring to be careful. If only Jack and Sue were going to spend time together, she was willing to make this sacrifice. Bobby, on the other hand, was wondering if those two were aware how they looked like; as if they the world around them completely didn't exist. He knew that Sparky was very much, hopelessly in love with his wife and didn't see a world beside her but what about Sue? With her, no one knew and he suspected that it could be due to the reason that she wasn't sure how she felt herself. It didn't change the fact, that in this moment they looked like the two enamoured people he remembered them to be.

Despite pretending to ignore it, Trevor could see it, too. He could feel anger and jealously raise in him at the sight of Sue, looking at Hudson _this _way, and him, holding her _like this_. It wasn't a look, which was supposed to be meant for the person she was keeping a distance from and if he wasn't the person, who she was in relationship with, he would suspect that those two were very much in love. It was infuriating him enough before, the thought that she was spending so much time with a man, who had managed to make her love him so much, that she married him. She was claiming that it was in the past and he was willing to believe her, but in this moment he wasn't so sure it was true anymore.

"I believe you told me you _don't_ dance." he hissed, when they took their seats behind the table, when the opening dance ended. She couldn't hear it, but his anger was perfectly mirrored in his voice.

"I told you that I don't dance _much_." she answered, feeling herself getting irritated. How could he make her a scene, when it was him, who didn't even care to ask her.

"Or perhaps, you dance only with _him_." he meant it as a statement, but it sounded more like a question, and seemed to have a hidden meaning as well. Because he also said it much louder than intended, he got an attention from others. Under Sue's deadly glare, they decided to pretend they didn't notice them. She stood up and gestured for him to do so as well, and then dragged him to the side of the room.

"What was that supposed to mean?"

"I remember very well, how I asked you to dance once and you told me a very clear no, and when I inquired why, you told me that you just don't feel comfortable on the dance floor. And he asks you the first time, and you just jump up and go with him."

"The first time? I was _married_ to him, I think it's quite clear that it wouldn't be the first time he asks me to dance. And the truth is, that all you had to do was ask, so stop acting like an idiot! Don't make me a scene, that I danced with him because it's _you, _who didn't ask me!"

"Of course, everything is my fault. If that's so, I think it's time for me to leave. And you can have as much fun with him as you want."

She was staring at him, her mouth open in shock, as he made his way to the exit of the room. Did he really just made her a scene because of a stupid dance? Yet, under the influence of anger and jealousy, any reason was good when someone didn't really control his emotions. A moment later she realised that he really left, and didn't intend to return. She shook her head in disbelief; it had to be some kind of a ridiculous dream.

She returned to the table, and was glad that her friends at least decided to pretend like nothing happened. She didn't feel like thinking about it now, let alone talk to someone. She shook her head; her boyfriend might have acted like an idiot, but if she was to spend the evening there, she could as well try to enjoy it.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** Thanks fanka and mjentrn for reviewing the last chapter! It's about the time, when dinner time is finishing here, in Poland, so I hope you're going to enjoy the dessert from me, Fanka ;) And you, too, mjentrn, I hope you're going to enjoy this chapter! And everyone else as well! :)

Here we go!

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As the time passed, she found herself having difficult time to prevent herself from going back to what happened and eventually walked out, hoping that some cool, fresh air is going to make it better. She still couldn't believe what has just taken place. She really would have never suspected such a behaviour from Trevor, even if blinded by anger and jealousy. How could he act like this in front of so many people?

She started to wonder if this stupid dance wasn't just a trigger for the outburst, which was gathering for some time now. It was no secret that things between them weren't well lately. In fact, their problems started with the moment of Jack coming back and claiming his place in Emily's life. She knew that Trevor couldn't fully accept the whole situation and suspected he could feel jealous, and she had to admit that she wasn't without blame. She was very attracted to Jack, and there was this inexplicable power pushing her towards him, or maybe it wasn't as inexplicable as she thought? It was only certain that Trev didn't like it at all, even if remained silent. Until now. She really didn't know what to think about it; did he just break up with her, or maybe just made her a scene and was going to apologize next day?

And then it hit her, that she was completely neutral to this. It was as if she completely didn't care if they broke up, and it made her feel bad. After being with him in relationship for such a long time, shouldn't she be at least concerned about it? Yes, she should be, but she wasn't and thanks to this she felt even worse. She was getting convinced that it meant, that in her heart, she didn't care about Trevor as much as she was trying to persuade herself, and everyone around. In fact, even her mind joined and she thought that if it was Jack, who accompanied her, he'd never leave like that even if they had a huge fight.

She shook her head; it wasn't the first time she was comparing those two. The truth was, that she didn't even realise, but she did it quite often. And the result was always making Jack look much better. She didn't allow it to reach her thoughts, but Trevor was mostly annoying her with those traits, which were exactly the opposite than Hudson's. She hid her face in her hands; it seemed that it really let her think clearly about a lot of things, but she wasn't sure she liked the conclusions of this thinking. The longer she wondered, the more convinced she was that it was Jack, who she should be with and everything, even those troubles she started having with Trevor were proving it.

She was on the edge of tears; what was she supposed to think and do? A part of her told her that she shouldn't be so terrified by the idea of ending things with Trevor and giving it a try with Jack. After all, what bad could happen of it? She could only see that the latter wasn't a good idea, but what else? Of course, she could also finish her relationship with Trev and later realise, that _he _was the man she wanted to be with. Yet, her heart was telling her otherwise.

She gasped and turned around at the feeling of someone touching her shoulder. She saw Jack, standing in front of her with concern in his eyes. When his hand met with her skin, he noticed how cold it was and he didn't hesitate a moment to take of his jacket and wrapped it around her. She thanked him with a sign, not really trusting her voice and watched him take a seat next to her.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, and she was staring at him for a moment, hesitating. Then she shook her head and in the same moment tears gathered in her eyes and flowed down her cheeks, a sob leaving her mouth.

Subconsciously, she leaned to him and Jack, even though a little surprised by her breakdown, immediately wrapped his arms around her. Her hands moved to his back and gripped the material of his shirt tightly, curling into fists; he held her against himself, stroking her hair with one hand and caressing her back with the other. He rested his cheek against the top of her head; knowing that soothing words were not going to work with her, he tried to give her as much comfort as possible with touch. The results were satisfying, and soon he felt her sobbing stop but she didn't move away. He didn't mind, he had absolutely nothing against holding her close like this and was eager to stay this way for as long as she wanted. Sue enjoyed being in his arms very much; as she was sitting with her head resting on his shoulder, his familiar scent so very present around her, she could only hope they weren't sitting in the public garden. She would be able to cuddle to him completely then, and it would also be much more comfortable. It felt so nice to be so close to him...

When she told him she wanted to go home, he felt a twinge of sadness, but then it completely turned at the suggestion that she wouldn't mind company. He grinned and immediately agreed, so they only went inside to inform their friends that they were leaving and made their way out. They didn't see grins on their friends' faces as they were watching them, neither did they hear them talk about how much they hoped that Sue was going to open her eyes. They just wanted to get out and soon were on their way to Sue's apartment. Jack was ecstatic to see, that something snapped inside of her in the most positive way. Their chat reminded him of the day they spent together not so long ago, it was very free and natural and continued with not much effort. And, when they reached their destination, both couldn't help but felt disappointed.

"Thanks for keeping me company." she said with a small smile. She had no idea how it happened, but even though just some time earlier she felt horrible, now her mood was much better. As if there was some kind of positive energy radiating from Jack, influencing her emotions.

"No need to thank me, it was a pleasure." he smiled back and her heart jumped.

He really held some kind of power over her, which was able to make her melt with just a simple smile. Not that Jack Hudson's smile wasn't famous and was able to make a lot of women's knees weak, but for her it always managed to make her completely lose her head. His eyes and his smile, those were the first things she has found herself attracted to – not that she's ever thought he wasn't handsome, but one look of his brown eyes or one smile, which he would sent her in the bullpen, catching her watch him always made her heartbeat quicken. It wasn't any different now, and she found herself staring into his eyes as if she was mesmerised, a smile lingering on her face, giving her a little dreamy look.

Jack noticed it and felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest. He couldn't take his eyes off her face, oh how much he missed this look! She was so beautiful, and when she was looking at him this way everything else beside her was stopping existing around. How many times he found himself getting lost under her gaze, unable to think straight or form a simplest word. He reached out his hand and touched her face; his fingers gently traced the outline of her face and he could feel her lean into his touch, sigh escaping her lips. It was difficult enough for him to stop himself from leaning to her and kissing her as they weren't even touching, but in this moment all the uncertainties, which were preventing him from doing so, disappeared.

He moved his face closer to hers, watching her carefully, but he didn't see any objection, quite the contrary. She closed her eyes, her mouth slightly parting and she wrapped her arms around his neck the moment his lips touched hers. She held onto him, as the kiss continued and evolved from the careful and gentle to much more needy and passionate; she was sure that she was able to stand only thanks to his arm, wrapped tightly around her waist and holding her against him. It was obvious that the whole world around them stopped existing, the only important thing for them was being in each other's arms, and they were both completely lost in the kiss. It showed just how much emotions was between them even despite everything what happened between them, but especially the huge love, which they were connected by quite easily since the beginning, even if aware of its presence only from later moment. Yes, she loved him, and as trivially as it sounded, it was in that moment that she was absolutely sure of it.

They only parted – very reluctantly – due to the lack of the air; they were both panting heavily, as they kept standing so close to each other. She only opened her eyes and her grip tightened, when she looked straight into his eyes and noticed the way he was staring at her. She felt like she was going to melt under his gaze; oh how could she be so stupid to even think of having doubts about the presence of his feelings for her? It was all there, in this look – full of love, affection, devotion, yearning and so many more! He knew that in this moment, all his feelings were clearly reflected in him and felt like his heart was going to explode, happiness rising highly in him when he noticed her lips spread into a big, happy grin. He couldn't stop himself from stealing another, small kiss from her before withdrawing.

"See you tomorrow, Sue."

He turned around and started walking down the street, in the direction of his apartment. It wasn't far and he wasn't in a hurry, so he could as well go on foot. She watched him, until he disappeared behind the corner after he stopped, turned to her and sent her a smile. It was only then that she remembered where she was and started walking towards the entrance to the building.

They had absolutely no idea that they were being watched. He's been sitting in his car, parked at the opposite side of the street, in a small distance from the building where she was living in. The dark colour of his car and lack of lamps right next to it allowed him to remain unseen. He was present there for some time now; it's been over two hours since he made the scene and left the ball and during this time he managed to regain his composure and see, that his feelings completely blinded him. Or, more accurately, made him see things, that probably weren't even there, at least during that time. He knew Sue well enough to know, that as long as she was in relationship with him, she'd never think about crossing the line with Hudson and he shouldn't have implied anything. He didn't even feel angry anymore, when he noticed her walk home in the company of that man, it was clear that Jack wasn't going to let this chance to spend time with her waste. He had no doubts that upon his living, he was going to claim the role of Sue's 'date' and he couldn't even blame him. The truth was, that the only person he could be angry at was himself. There were no doubts that by his actions, he pushed Sue into Hudson's arms.

As he watched them, so unaware that he was even there, he finally had a chance to witness what really was between them. There were no restrains, all the feelings were flying freely around and the chemistry between them was perceptible even from his spot. And then they kissed; his eyes widened and he was staring at them agape, not believing his eyes. Should he really be so sure that she wouldn't cross the line? The kiss, and later also the look they've given each other definitely suggested otherwise, but it would be impossible. Sue's conscience would never allow her to do it or would eat her alive afterwards.

He sighed, watching Jack leave; he really was a fool. How could he believe, that he stood a chance against the man, when it seemed all he had to do was claim her heart, when the opportunity arose. Trevor couldn't understand why he even waited for him to give him this occasion, but actually admired him; it seemed that he really didn't need much, her heart seemed to belong to him all along. Yet, he accepted that she was with someone else instead of storming into her life and claiming his place in it; Trev wasn't sure he would act in the same way if he was in his shoes. He knew, that it was his place to back off and give them a chance for a real happiness; as a couple, and along with their little angel, as a family.

He hesitated for a moment, looking at the cardigan on the passenger's seat. He caught it and got out of the car; he would have to come and give it to her anyway, so he could as well do it now. There was no sense in delaying this moment, and leaving her unsure about their status on his side, because he had no doubts that for her everything was completely over.

"Sue, wait." he caught her arm, startling her and noticed a surprise on her face at the sight of him. "I came to give you this... Not that you actually need it." he added, referring to Jack's jacket, still wrapped around her and she blushed, taking the cardigan from him. "Just promise me you're going to be happy with him."

"W-What?" she asked, taken aback by his request and he rolled her eyes.

"I'm here for about an hour now, you know?" her eyes widened at his statement and he chuckled slightly, a little amused by her reaction. "Yeah, I saw everything but first of all, I saw that as long as he's present in your life, we'll never have a chance. You could fight it, but he's the one you love and want to be with and everything about you just screamed it. I care about you too much to stand in the way of your happiness. And, it's not right to stand in the way of family's happiness... Just be happy with him, Sue, that's all I ask you for."

He smiled at her, even though he definitely didn't feel happy; he felt a huge sadness at the thought of letting her go, it seemed that she wasn't the one for him. He loved her, yes, but love also about sacrifices and he was eager to make this one, if it was going to make her happy. Perhaps in time, he'll move on and perhaps, will find a true happiness just like hers was with her husband. He turned around, walked to his car and drove away, without even turning to look at her; he wasn't sure he wouldn't change his mind if he did. But he had to let her go, he knew it was the right thing to do.

She slowly made her way upstairs, completely shocked. She went into her apartment, took off Jack's jacket, hanging it next to hers, kicked off her heels and sat at the edge of the small table standing there. With a corner of her eye she noticed Lucy, and the smile immediately faded from woman's face, when she noticed her friend, so lost in thoughts.

"What's happened?" she asked, when Sue looked at her and the blonde's reaction was to snort.

What _hasn't_ happened, would be definitely much better question!


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** I wasn't planning on writing a chapter this long and I thought to split it, but I decided I don't really want to do it. It's a huge dose of sugar (with a special dedication for fanka77), mixed with a big amount of explanations and a little sorrow at the end. Thank you: _fanka77_, _mjentrn_ (you plan on visiting Poland next year? If you mean the place I think about, then feel specially invited to Krakow and surroundings by me ;D), _cheliosfan_, _Voltaire63_, _71cottes_ and _CoolBreeze _for reviewing the last chapter. I hope you are going to enjoy this one!

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The moment she let him into the apartment in the next morning, he was shocked. Not, that he minded, but the sweet, greeting kiss she gave him made him speechless. Sue chuckled, seeing him stare at her with his eyes wide; the next moment she glanced at him, she noticed that the surprise disappeared from his face. It was replaced by a huge, goofy smile, which made her shake her head with amusement. He looked like a child, who was given his favourite treat, cute and adorable, and Sue could feel warmth spread through her body. Now, that her feelings to him weren't restrained by her morals, she wasn't able to wonder, how she could even doubt that she still loved him. She was stupid, thinking that she could move on and love someone else; no, her heart forever belonged to him and there was absolutely no place for any other man.

In the evening, before she fell asleep, she had some time to think and she has made the decision that she will give it a second chance. It was worth it, and if their love wasn't enough reason, there was this perfect little creature, sleeping in another room, who deserved to grow up in a full, loving family. Deep in her heart she knew, that they will succeed; there was no other option. It wasn't going to be perfect, no life is and obstacles will appear, but she was certain that together, they were going to be able to overcome them. She couldn't imagine they wouldn't be.

There was one issue, already present. The one problem, which made the voice in her head unable to disappear; the very same one, which was leaving the worry of ending up miserable again. She didn't even want to think of it being possible, she didn't want to believe that he would leave again and shatter her and Emily's hearts. He wouldn't do this to them. Yet, despite accepting and forgiving him his decision, she still wanted to know why he stayed away from them for so long. Seeing that he cared about them so much, she didn't suspect it was a trivial reason; she was quite sure that it had to be a good one. But she wanted to know, for her trust's sake!

He glanced into Emily's room and saw the girl still asleep; he only smiled at the sight of the pillow lying on the floor and the duvet kicked down to the bed's legs. Then he turned to see Sue, walk around the apartment and gather things she needed. He could see and feel that something has changed; he wasn't entirely sure what it was but he suspected it had to be connected to her fight with Trevor on the previous evening. He'd think that they could have broken up, it would definitely explain the kiss she gave him just like that, but when would it happen? He had no idea, but if it meant that things between them were going to look like this, he definitely wasn't going to complain!

She confirmed his suspicions, explaining to him what happened after he left last evening. He watched her carefully and was quite relieved to see, that she wasn't devastated by it. He had no doubts that she did feel a little bad, she had to care about the man if she stayed in relationship with him, but it seemed to be less meaningful than he thought.

"I was wondering, what would you say about spending the day outside? It looks like it's going to be warm and sunny today." she asked, just before leaving and Jack nodded.

"I planned to suggest the very same thing. Perhaps another picnic in the park and later, we'll see?"

"Sure, I'll prepare something when I'm back. No, you're not going to help me, someone has to watch Emily or we're never going to leave." she added before he could offer his assistance, seeing that he's already opened his mouth. She leaned down, fastening the leash to Levi's collar. "I'll be back as usually."

He went to the living room and turned the TV on. There wasn't much he could do, especially that Emily was still asleep and he didn't want to wake her up. He's never really had the chance to witness it, but everyone claimed that another thing she had after him was that she was very grumpy if woken up. He couldn't allow her to be in bad mood if they were to enjoy themselves, so he just made himself comfortable on the couch and started watching the repeat of some old match on the sports channel, which he didn't have a chance to watch when it took place. About an hour later he heard footsteps and saw his daughter slowly walk towards him, holding her teddy bear close to herself. She was still a little sleepy, and climbed onto his lap to cuddle; he usually didn't come in the morning, so he didn't have a lot of opportunity to be there when she was waking up, but this morning cuddling was something she always wanted, at least when he was there.

It was exactly how Sue found them, when she came back and could only regret that she didn't have camera anywhere close. Neither of them noticed that she was back until Levi ran into the room to join them, jumping onto the couch. Emily giggled when he nudged her with his nose and turned around, to watch her mom approach them.

"And you're still in your pyjamas?" she asked with a smile, kissing the girl's head.

"This sleepyhead woke up only a while ago." answered Jack, gently tickling the child, but enough to make her giggle and squirm a little.

"What do you say about picnic today?"

"Yaay!" was her only response next to clasping her hands and a huge grin, which appeared on her face, not that Sue expected anything else.

While Jack was looking after Emily, making sure she ate her breakfast, helping her with her morning toilet and then fighting with her to get dressed, but eventually succeeding in convincing that she couldn't go out in her pyjamas, Sue was preparing and gathering things for them. All the time she couldn't stop thinking just how right it felt, so in place. But, the truth was it should have been the three of them ever since the beginning, since the day their daughter was born and even earlier. She sighed; it was all back again to his absence. She pushed those thoughts away; she was going to ask him about it earlier, so she would be able to feel better, but for now she wasn't going to think about it. Today, she was going to enjoy the beautiful day with them.

And she did. With Sue completely at ease to have fun with them, it was even better than the previous one they've spent together. In fact, she wasn't sure if she didn't have more fun and laughter on that day than during few weeks combined. At first they went to the park, to the usual spot, which they've thought about as their since the first time the two of them had a picnic there, not so long after they got together. From that day it was out of question where to go, even when she was coming there alone with Emily. It turned out that they weren't the only one to come to the park, and there were much more blankets all around. But they could as well be absent, as she was sitting on the blanket and watching Jack and Emily fooling around, with Levi running with them, she had eyes only for them.

"Okay, I need some rest." stated Jack, as they approached her.

He fell heavily onto he blanked next to her and the girl pouted, but one look from her mom was enough for her to know, that there was no sense in protesting.

"Let Daddy rest and he'll play with you some more later." she said, and even though it was obvious that it wasn't exactly to the child's liking, she only sighed giving up.

Jack immediately turned to Sue, looking at her with a surprise in his eyes. He had no idea if that happened before, but it was the first time he heard her relate to him as 'daddy', when she was speaking to their daughter. Usually he was just Jack but he definitely didn't mind the change. It felt nice for him to hear this word in reference to him, and he was sure that it would feel even better if it left Emily's mouth, but he guessed that it could take some time. It wasn't going to come natural for her, like it did for other children, who had their fathers in their lives since the very beginning, especially that he was introduced to her as Jack.

"Where does she get all this energy from?" he wondered, shaking his head as he watched her go to play with twin girls, she obviously knew.

Sue later explained to him, that those were her two best friends, as much as someone could talk about friendship at this age. They were only two months older than Emily, living nearby so it was nothing unusual for them to meet on the playground on a nice day. Jack could feel the curious look he was getting from those girls' parents; he knew that with everyone thinking he was dead, it was what Sue would tell them if they inquired about Emily's dad. It had to be quite surprising for them to see him, sitting there very much alive; he was quite certain that they guessed who he was, he was often told that only someone blind could have doubts about his relation to the child. When he glanced in their direction he saw that he was right, and smiled at them; he saw the woman blush deeply and both looked away, embarrassed that they were caught.

They've spend some more time in the park, before deciding that it was time for dinner. They went to a small restaurant nearby, where Sue liked to go with Emily to and after they ate their meal, they slowly headed to another place they agreed to visiting. They walked and chatted, while Emily was napping in her dad's arms, completely undisturbed by any noise around her. Finally they reached the place, which was special for both but somehow, neither of them has been there ever since they got this peculiar meaning. She could still remember the evening walk they took those incomplete three years ago, after going out to dinner; a small smile made its way to her face at the memory.

_Knowing that their time together was limited, they were very adamant on spending together as much of it as only possible. This time he decided to take her out to a romantic dinner in their favourite restaurant and as always, she enjoyed this date very much. She would probably enjoy it just as equally if they stayed at home and he tried to cook for her – what, knowing his cooking skills would turn out to be a disaster and they would end up eating pizza. But then, they wouldn't be able to go out for a walk; it was their unspoken tradition. Every time they were eating out, they would go for a walk. Depending on the weather, it would be just going home or a longer stroll, but it was always there. And that night was no exception. _

_She didn't know if he had this particular place in mind, but soon she found herself in the very same place, where they often hanged out, also with their friends. It was one of the first spots she fell in love in DC; she stopped in front of the fountain, the very same one they came to with Lucy and Charlie, not a long time after she moved to this city. Even then he has already been able to make her feel better, for some time making her forget the guilt she felt after Levi and him got shot. She turned to look at him, when he touched her arm gently and suggested that they throw the coin into the water, making wishes. She didn't really believe in those kind of things, but didn't have anything against it. _

"_What did you ask for?" he immediately inquired and she laughed. _

"_If I tell you, it's not going to happen!" _

"_Fair enough. I actually have to tell you if I want mine to happen." he smiled, seeing the curiosity raise in her gaze. "You know I love you, very much, and I really don't want to leave..?" _

"_Of course, although I don't mind you reminding me." _

"_I know that a year is a long time, and having no contact with each other is not the perfect situation, but I don't want this to end. I believe that what we have is very special, and I want you to know that even out there, I'm never going to stop loving you and hoping, that I could be with you." he swallowed, feeling himself get more nervous with every word, now that he directed the conversation onto this course. He was glad it went smoothly and was gathering his courage to move on further with his plan. "I want you to know, that no matter how far I am, I'll be thinking about you. You are the most special person I've ever met, the love of my life and even if now we're going to be apart, I want to spend the rest of my life with you." her eyes widened, when she read those words on his lips. Her mouth opened slightly in shock, when she watched him get down onto one knee and take a small box out of his pocket, opening it to reveal a simple, but very beautiful diamond ring. "Will you marry me?" _

_For a moment she was absolutely speechless. Was it really happening? Was Jack really proposing to her? She blinked, then once again, but he was indeed there, kneeling in front of her, looking at her with a mix of love, and hope for a 'yes'. She chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand, not really believing it was real. Just few moments ago she wished for a __forever__ with him, for their own 'happily ever after' and now he was offering it to her. Tears were flowing down her cheeks and he sighed with relief, when he saw her nod her head. _

"_Yes... Yes, of course!" _

_He grinned and stood up, taking her hand in his and slipping the ring onto her finger. She hugged him tightly, and squealed when she felt him wrap his arms around her, lift her slightly and swirl. Her smiled match hers, when she moved away a little to look at his face; soon he closed the distance between them, capturing her lips and engaging them in a loving kiss._

Jack saw the dreamy expression which appeared on Sue's smile as they were nearing their destination and had quite a good idea what she was thinking about. The moments when she accepted his proposal was one of the happiest moments in his life, next to the moment when she became his wife or the one, when he find out that he was a father. He was going to be forever grateful to Myles, that he decided to use his connections to give him a copy of one of Emily's first pictures along with a small note, that 'he should know about her'. He didn't have to do try to give it to him in case he was somewhere out there, alive. He chuckled at the memory of Leland's face when he thanked him for this, and mentioned that he would be even more happy if Myles wrote her name. He was convinced he has wrote it, as well as her date of birth on the back of the picture and believed him only when Jack took it out and showed him that there was nothing.

He was only brought back to reality by Sue's sigh and looked at her with questioning look.

"Life can be very tricky, don't you think?" she asked and the smile faded from his lips, as he realised what she meant. "We were to be apart for a year at most, and it extended to almost three years, and for me, two and a half of thinking that you're never coming back."

"Sue, I... I had no choice." he managed to get out in a shaking voice, and gestured for them to move to the nearby bench. They sat on it and he placed Emily on his lap, in a position that was going to be more comfortable for both of them. But the girl stirred and it would be that from her nap, so they agreed that he'll just take her everything when they're back at her apartment.

She could see that he was troubled by it and that it had to be difficult for him. He tried to cover it, by fooling around with Emily but she knew better. And, when they were back, their daughter bathed and fast asleep, she went to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate for them, later joining him on the couch in the living room. He was lost in thoughts and she felt as if her heart was going to break, when he looked up at her. She wasn't sure if she's ever seen him so pained, all the emotions connected to those three years were reflected there. He hid them for a very long time, and didn't really feel like talking about it but he knew he had to; for her, but for himself as well.

"I can't tell much about this assignment, it's strictly classified but... There was this organisation we were infiltrating... We were to get into it as members, gather information, try to sabotage their actions... Proving our loyalty was..." his voice broke, and his eyes filled with tears. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it; she had no idea what he was expected to do, but she could see that it wasn't an easy experience for him.

"Not all of us were able to cope... I'm not sure I would be able to get into this organisation if it wasn't for Steve. He saved my life and vouched for me, even though he didn't know me. He did it because officially, he gave the recommendation to recruit me. Along with me there was another agent, who was on something like this for the first time. There were problems with him since the very beginning but for some time we managed to take care of it and everything was going as planned. There were three of us, who were waiting to go back home and at one moment we were informed that if it continues like this, we would be allowed to leave.

It was supposed to be our last and biggest sabotage. We were to detonate the explosives, which they had ready for a manifest, just stored in some kind of a barn. Steve and Martin, another higher member, somehow managed to make the three of us the first to go and get those explosives, so they would be placed in the cars. We didn't have a lot of time, if we were taking too long they would come and check on us, and then it would be over. We were supposed to go there, arm those materials and leave quickly, leaving them to explode and destroy the barn along with everything inside. We didn't plan on finding people, who were held captive there! We started to evacuate them, taking a huge risk because we didn't have time to do it, but we couldn't just leave them there for a certain death. And we didn't expect that Johnny will suddenly appear out of nowhere, bringing people with him and completely blowing our cover!

It was chaos... They were shooting at all of us, people were screaming, children were crying... One moment Johnny must have slipped inside unnoticed and detonated the explosives! Most of the people were killed, I survived only because a moment earlier I carried away the boy, whose mother was shot so I was far enough to only be hit by the shock wave. Out of all the people, there were only four of us, who survived. Me, Steve, Tom – another one of the agents, and Craig, who turned out to be our biggest problem. As horrible as it sounds, we planned to make sure that he's not going to ruin our plans and reveal, who we really were as well as the fact, that we survived the explosion. The damages were so big, that they would never be able to determine how many people were actually killed and we planned to disappear, leaving those people to think that we died as well.

But Craig escaped and we didn't even know how. We didn't even realise he was gone until few cars appeared and they started to shoot at us. Somehow we managed to get out and drive away, but we couldn't pass as dead for them. I was quite adamant on going home, to you anyway... It was far away and what were the odds for them to look for me in DC? And then Tom showed me a picture he had with his best friend... He told me that all this guy wanted was, just like me, go back home to those he loved. The difference between us was that he had a wife and two small children, and I didn't know you were pregnant then so it was like I had only you. They went to his hometown together and on the next day this friend took Tom out for a walk, to show him the area. When they got back, they've found them all in the living room, dead. The oldest child was five, and his wife was pregnant with their third one.

He told me then, that I didn't have to believe him if I didn't want to, that he was just warning me and the choice was mine. I can't explain it to you how, but I knew that he wasn't lying. And I couldn't risk that anything was going to happen to you, I wouldn't survive it... It was the most difficult decision I've made in my life, but I decided to stay away for your own sake. I am back only because it should be safe now, but if it was necessary, I would stay away forever."

She was holding his hand all the time as he was talking, gently caressing the top of it with her thumb. All she wanted was to wrap her arms around him and hold him, but she wouldn't be able to read his lips then. She really knew much more now, even more than she should, but it really allowed her to see the whole thing in a different light. She could see it all wasn't easy for him, and she wasn't able to be angry at him for not coming back and letting her believe he was dead, anymore. Just like a silent voice in her head told her, he did it for her, to protect her.

"How did you find out about Emily, then?" she asked, as it was another thing she wanted to know but wasn't told yet.

"While on the run, we had one stop not far from the place where Tom grew up. His mother was still living there. He was going to her only at night, but through her we contacted the FBI to let them know we're alive. Myles had his connections in the department, where I was transferred to upon going onto this assignment and after the news about the explosion spread, he asked to be notified in case anything about me will be known. Whoever he had there, told him about the contact we've made and agreed to pass something to me. It turned out to be an envelope with a picture of a baby and a note from him. I fell in love with her the moment I saw it... It sounds crazy, considering that I was away and it was just a picture, and I didn't even know her name but it was just..." he sighed, blinking few times to get rid of tears, which appeared in his eyes yet again. "It's when I had a small breakdown... I wanted to go to you so much, and to get to know that I left you with a child... I always thought about having children one day, and only when I've met you it became more of a dream I wanted to become reality... And to find out that it did...

But the truth is that she was only the more reason why I shouldn't come back... As her father I was responsible for giving her the best life I could, and if I didn't stay away, I could be responsible for this life being taken from her before she even had a chance to really live. I only managed to convince them to pass something from me to you, or more exactly to Myles and he couldn't tell you the truth about this package. So don't be angry at him for keeping it all a secret, but if he didn't, he wouldn't bring problems to himself, but to me, to you, to this person he knew and I don't even know who else. But he gave it to you, to Emily to be exact, claiming it was from him for the matter's sake and I see that it got the place I hoped it would."

Sue stared at him in shock, and immediately started to wonder what he could mean. What did Myles give Emily, what could come from Jack? And then it dawned on her; the gift, he appeared with out of the blue, which had absolutely no sense in timing. Even his ridiculous explanation for it, that he saw it in the store and had to buy it gained sense now. It definitely sounded like something Bobby would do, but not Leland, and now she knew that he said that just to give her _any _reason for it.

"Emily's teddy bear..." she whispered, and noticed him nod.

"Sue, I know that it hurts that I was out there all the time and didn't even let you know I'm alive, but you have to see that I couldn't do otherwise... I couldn't allow anything to happen to you or to Emy... You have to believe me, and, perhaps in time forgive me..." she felt a twinge in her heart, when he looked up at her face, for the first time since he started to explain everything. His eyes were full of tears, and some of the things she could see there was sincerity, pain and plea.

"I do, Jack... I believe and forgive you..."

His tears flowed down his cheeks, and he signed a 'Thank you', not trusting his voice. She nodded her head, squeezing his hand tighter and he leaned to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and hid his face in her neck. She's never seen Jack like this, in fact she wasn't sure if she ever saw him cry, let alone so vulnerable. She held her against him, rocking them a little and whispering to him, letting him cry. She suspected that it was the result of everything he was storing in himself. All the emotions he kept inside for those three years found a way out, and she just held him, letting him cry his heart out.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** It took me so long to write this chapter, because I was rewriting it probably more than ten times. And I have to admit that I still don't like the way it turned out but I want to post it today as my updates are probably going to become less frequent soon, when I start working. But, this story is my main focus right now, so it shouldn't be that bad. Especially that I still have some things planned for it :) Well, I hope you're going to enjoy it at least a little.

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Two weeks passed, July came and the summer started for good. The weather was exceptionally nice that year and even though it was raining, it was happening mostly at night; days were almost always warm and sunny. This gave the opportunity t spend a lot of time outside, and the Hudsons used it a lot. Jack, who was still waiting for the decision regarding Sue's application to think seriously consider his options about returning to the FBI, took over the responsibilities of the babysitter, which was taking care of Emily while Sue was at work. The young woman was happy, because she had some holiday time and could resume working when he would finish his leave.

They fell into the new routine quite easily. Jack was coming to Sue some time before she was leaving in the morning. Then he occupied himself until their daughter woke up and – depending on the weather – prepared her breakfast, made sure she has done her morning toilet and helped her get dressed, so they could go out or just find something to do at home. They were going out much more often than not, and a week was enough for the people living around to connect him with his girls. Some of them remembered him, because it used to be – after all – his apartment and their curiosity was raised high because they also remembered that he was working for the FBI, and with his sudden disappearance assumed that he must have died in the line of duty. There was also second group of people, who weren't living in the neighbourhood at the same time as Jack. Those knew only Sue and Emily, and they were mostly convinced that the girl's father just didn't want to be in the picture either because he was too immature to think about taking responsibility, or didn't want to share his life with a person like Sue. He understood that for them, Emy had her mother's surname and they didn't know that it was her married name. Their views, especially the latter, were infuriating him just like all the other people, who thought about her as different or less capable or whatever just because she couldn't hear. But, accordingly to her plea, he just ignored them and took pleasure in watching their astonished faces when they realised that he was the child's dad and now, that he could, was very much in the picture.

What he didn't know, however, was that it quickly spread around that he was a wonderful father – loving, caring, protective, attentive and much more. Sue had a lot of chances to read people complimenting his parenting skills, when she was shopping in the local store or even just walking, but stayed unnoticed. She only had a small smile on the outside, but inside her heart, she felt extremely proud. They were both very lucky to have him in their lives and the more time passed, the more convinced she was getting that giving their relationship a second chance was the best thing she could do. The last time she thought about her life to be so great was back before he left for this whole assignment, but now, that they had Emily, it was more complete. What she always wanted the most was a family and over the past days she had the chance to have it. And she hoped that they were going to stay this way, because now she couldn't imagine her life in any other way, without spending time with both of them after work. Of course, all the obstacles standing in their way didn't just disappear with the moment Jack shared his story with her. It did allow her to see the whole matter from his perspective and understand his decisions; she would do the very same thing in his place. And with this understanding, her uncertainty was soothed and the wounds could start to heal. It was going to take a while, but in time she believed she was going to be able to trust him completely again. Perhaps they were meant to be together after all.

Jack stretched a little, sitting on the bench and closed his eyes. He could hear a lot of children's voices around himself and just a second earlier saw Emily play in the sandpit with few other kids. He knew that they will have to head back in a moment, Sue was going to call them where they are because she had the dinner ready. He insisted that she didn't have to cook, that he'll prepare something but she didn't want to hear about it. He knew that his cooking skills weren't the best but he didn't think they were that bad either; especially that he had some opportunity to improve them, but Sue was stubborn and there was no convincing her otherwise. This evening at least they were going to eat in town. He straightened himself when he heard a distressful "Daaddyyy!"; he was quite certain it was Emily's voice but looked around. There weren't many fathers on the playground, in fact he was the only one there and his eyes immediately looked in the direction of the sandpit. He noticed Emy slowly walk towards him and crying; he looked at her carefully, and didn't see anything what could be the reason for her distress. Only when he glanced at the teddy bear, which she was holding by the arm, he noticed that its leg was torn out and in her other hand.

He stood up and came to her, immediately picking her up. The child snuggled into him, and he held her, trying to calm her down and carefully making his way back to the bench.

"It's okay, Princess, don't cry. It's just a teddy bear..." he bit his tongue, he had the sentence that she had many others in her room but realised that it might only make her cry more. Sue told him that this one was her favourite, he liked the fact because it was the one which came from him, so it wouldn't be very comforting.

"Emy's favouite..." she mumbled, looking at him with huge, teary eyes.

Jack sighed and hugged her tightly, kissing her head tenderly. He could feel that she was calm now, but held her for a while longer when it dawned on him that in this whole distress, she has called him 'Daddy'. His heart skipped a beat and he could feel it swell with pride. It didn't really reach him earlier but she did call him that, for the first time.

"Let's go home, Mommy should already be back." he suggested and the girl nodded.

Sue was indeed back from work and knew that something happened the moment they stepped into the apartment. Usually, Emily was just running to her and chatting about what she's done with Jack during the day, even though sometimes Sue had some problems with catching what she was saying. This time, however, she saw her nestled against Jack's chest and allowed him to explain everything to her. Sue agreed with him, that it was no big deal despite the toy holding a special place in Sue's heart now, that she knew it was a gift from Jack. For their child however, it seemed like the end of the world and she was grumpy for the rest of the day, what made them a little guilty about leaving her with Bobby and Darcy for the evening.

The couple suggested to babysit her, wanting Sue and Jack to spend some time only with each other. They didn't really have much opportunity to be alone, only sometimes in the morning when Jack would arrive earlier and in the evenings, when Emy was asleep. Their friends had no doubts that spending time with their daughter allowed them to repair the damages present in their bond, but they were both convinced that they could use some time one-on-one. So one day Crash suggested, that he and Darcy would like to spend some time with Emily, claiming that they missed her as they don't get to babysit her often anymore now, that Jack is back and the two of them are giving it a try. Not that Sue didn't believe him, it was a fact that all of her friends were spending less time with her daughter, but neither she nor Jack missed the hidden suggestion underneath it. They still agreed, and even the suggestion that Emily was in a bad mood didn't change Bobby and Darcy's minds.

"Here is my beloved Miss Sparky! Did you miss your uncle?" Crash took the girl from her dad's arms, while she nodded. "Say bye to Mommy and Daddy, we're having a sleepover tonight!"

"Everything you might need is in the backpack. If anything, don't hesitate to call at any time of the day or night." Darcy grinned, listening to Sue and took the bag from the blonde woman.

"I know Sue. It's not the first time we're having a sleepover, remember? Don't worry about your little girl, she'll be fine. Just enjoy yourselves."

"And you don't have to hurry to pick her up." added Bobby with a wink, and Jack sent him a deadly glare.

He knew exactly what his friend implied, and then glanced at Sue. Her attention was focused on Emily, who was now in Darcy's arms and she was telling her to be nice, what meant she didn't notice that Crash said anything. Hudson felt relieved; he could be paranoid but the last thing he needed was for Sue to think that he set the whole situation up to get into her pants. Not that he didn't want her, if he claimed so it would be the biggest lie in his life, but they weren't at this stage yet. It could look simple from the outside; they were married, now back together and obviously the fact that they were extremely happy with each other was quite perceptible, but it was much more complicated. He could want her, need her even, and be quite sure that she reciprocates this feeling judging by what he could feel in her kisses, but he was going to wait for when it'd feel is the right time. He didn't want them to jump into something and later regret that it was too early; they had time, they were in no hurry. He didn't wait three years to have her back in his life and then suffered during the longest few weeks in his life, when he was quite convinced that he might never have her back, to now ruin it with disability to control himself. But his friend didn't have to know all of it, and the look would have to be enough.

"I have to admit that I didn't make any big plans for tonight..." stated Jack, when they left their friends' apartment and headed to the car.

"That's good, I am too tired for a busy evening." she smiled and got into the vehicle.

They left the car at Sue's place, so they could just walk home and then he took her to one of their favourite restaurants. It was small, cosy, inexpensive and didn't require any elegant clothing, but the food was delicious. They used to visit the place quite often in the past, but with Emy they didn't eat out that much and didn't manage to end there yet. The room was, as usually, almost full but they were lucky to find a table in the corner, where they would have at least a little privacy. Jack always hated the tables somewhere at the front; it could be ridiculous but it always felt for him as if everyone were staring at what he was eating or eavesdropping on the conversation even though they wouldn't even know what they talked about. Being in no hurry, they enjoyed their time and didn't 'eat and run'; instead they ordered additional drinks and sat there, chatting about everything and anything.

The weather, however, wasn't very nice for them. Just like they almost always did, they were slowly walking home, enjoying the warm evening. One moment Jack heard a strange, a little swishy sound and suddenly a huge rain fell.

"Come on, my apartment is right behind the corner!" he caught Sue's hand and pulled her towards his place.

They had a lot of fun, running in the heavy rain. They jumped into the building, almost knocking one of Jack's neighbours off her feet while she was standing in front of the mailboxes and checking hers. Even though they were running and it was very close, they were already soaking wet and dripping onto the floor. The woman sighed exasperated, shaking her head and Jack only chuckled when he heard 'Like children!' behind them, shouting apologies to her as they were going upstairs and into the apartment.

When they walked inside, Sue looked around. She hasn't had the opportunity to be in this place before; she never really had any reason to come here. Ever since they decided to get back together, Jack was practically only sleeping here, and spending the rest of the day at her apartment. It was quite visible, that he wasn't present there often; it was quite empty, as he had only the absolutely necessary furniture there and didn't do much around. It was bigger than the one she was living in, that apartment had only a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, two bedrooms and a small anteroom, while this had all of this and two more rooms, even though the space inside was a little smaller than in the ones at her place. Jack admitted he bought it because it was nice and the price wasn't high because it needed renovation, as well as the previous owners wanted to sell it quite quickly and now it had additional advantage of being situated quite close to her apartment.

"Here, take this. They will surely be too big, but they're at least dry." Jack handed her his T-shirt and sweatpants, which he brought from the room he used as the bedroom. "There is the bathroom and if you want to take a shower, just tell me and I'll bring you a towel."

"If you don't mind..."

"Not at all."

A short moment later he knocked on the door to the bathroom to give Sue a towel and then went to the bedroom to take off the soaked clothes. He wasn't only wet, but also quite cold thanks to the material and it was a nice change to be in something dry. He then went to the kitchen and by the time Sue joined him, he had two mugs of hot tea ready for them. His clothes were indeed much too big for her, but she didn't mind. When she was at home, she actually liked to go around in some of those clothes of his, which she kept because they were loose and comfortable.

"I'm afraid I have only tea and coffee, and the latter at this hour is not the best idea."

"It's okay, it's hot and that's all that matters. I see it is still raining..?"

"Yeah, it doesn't look like it's going to pass soon. I think it's going to be best if you just stay here for the night. And don't worry, I know that the couch doesn't look or feel comfortable to sleep, so you'll take the bed."

"I'm not going to be this cruel for you, Jack. Spend one night on this couch and you won't be able to stand straight tomorrow."

"The only other option is to share the bed and it's a bad idea." He was surprised by the expression, which the sentence caused to appear on her face. Was it possible she felt hurt by it? His eyes widened at the realisation how he made it sound. He placed his hand at the side of her face and lifted it a little, with the intention to make her look up at him. "I'm not sure I'd be able to be so close to you and keep my hands to myself..." he added, and it made her blush a little, but a small smile still spread her lips.

"I actually hoped I would get to snuggle to you, instead of a pillow..." it was his turn to smile and he leaned towards her, pressing his lips against hers.

"Very well, then."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to himself. This position didn't really allow them to have a conversation, with Sue unable to read his lips, so they just sat in silence, enjoying the peace as well as the closeness between them. He finished his tea and glanced at her; just like he thought, she fell asleep against him. He wasn't surprised, he noticed that she was quite tired. He carefully turned to put his arm under her knees and stood up, lifting her with himself. Careful not to step on Levi, who lied down next to the couch and seemed to be asleep as well, he made his way to the other room and placed Sue on the bed, covering her with the duvet. For a moment he hesitated but then slipped under it as well, joining her. He chuckled, when she moved closer to him in her sleep and wrapped his arm around her, holding her. He hid his face in her hair, breathing in her scent. How many times he found himself lying restless in his bed, remembering how it felt to hold her this way, dreaming to be able to lie like this? Definitely a lot, and he had to admit that it felt even better than he remembered. He placed a loving kiss on her head and closed his eyes; for the first time in months, the sleep took him so easily.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** Here we go with another update! I hope you're going to enjoy it and remember, if you kill me I'm not going to be able to finish the story ;-)

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Consciousness was slowly coming back to her and she couldn't stop the smile, which was making its way onto her face. She just had a wonderful dream, and even though she couldn't really remember it now that it was fading, she knew that it finish with her, falling asleep in Jack's arms. She could actually feel his body pressed against hers behind her, his arm wrapped around her middle, his regular breath at the back of her neck and it was then, that she realised that it wasn't exactly a dream. Perhaps she did dream about it, but one thing was certain – it happened for real, too!

She opened her eyes and looked around as much as it was possible without moving much. She was pretty sure that she didn't come here on the previous evening, the last thing she remembered was sitting cuddled to Jack. She must have fallen asleep and he must have carried her here. The room was, just like the rest of the apartment, quite empty. There was a bed and a wardrobe, but that was it. The walls were empty and practically begging for being painted, the door has seen better days, too. It was pretty much like the rest, asking for renovation, which Jack had difficulties to find time to even think about. It seemed like he focused on the most important, absolutely necessary stuff and left the rest for when he'll have this time, but nobody knew when it would happen.

She spent a moment in this position, but as much as it could be comfortable for a longer time when she was sleeping, it started to change now that she was awake. She's made the decision to try and slip out of Jack's grip without waking him up and almost managed to, but just before she sat up she felt his arm come back around her waist and press her against him just before he signed for her to stay. She sighed, but smiled anyway and managed to turn around to face him. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be still very much asleep. He looked much younger with his face muscles relaxed, only the shade of a stubble was adding him maturity. She reached out and touched his cheek with tips of her fingers, enjoying the rough feeling under them.

"Sue..." he mumbled, his mind not really certain if he should go back to sleep or wake up, but the gentle touch of her fingertips giving him a ticking sensation was starting to drive him crazy.

"Hmm?" she smiled and moved her hand a up, touching his forehead and brushing some of his hair away from it.

He was fighting with the desire to sleep more and, not without some effort, slowly opened his eyes. He looked directly at her face, a warm, loving smile gracing her lips and immediately smiled, too. It was definitely the most beautiful sight he could imagine in the morning, even back when they were together he rarely got the chance to wake up this way because she was usually up much before him.

"Morning..." he said and moved his face closer to hers, capturing her lips in the gentlest and sweetest of kisses.

"Good morning." her smile only widened, when she felt him put his hand around her and press her against him, placing a kiss on top of her head. "Morning cuddle, hmm?" she felt him nod and chuckled.

Not that she had anything against it, she actually enjoyed to lie with him like this very much and if it was up to her, she wouldn't mind for the morning not to end. It's been a while since they could just be like this, cuddled to each other for practically as long as they wanted to. It wasn't late in the evening, when she would just start falling asleep tired after a day of work or while Emily was napping, when they knew she was going to wake up soon and they'll have to focus on her. Of course, they didn't complain; she was the best thing that happened to them, they loved her dearly and couldn't imagine that she wouldn't come to them, interrupting their moment of peace. But that didn't change the fact that now, when they could just enjoy it, they didn't find it wonderful.

He let out a deep, content sigh, placing another loving kiss on her head. His hand gently moved up from her side, landing on her head and he found himself stroking her hair with his fingers, slightly tangled in her locks. He just didn't want to let her go; it felt as if she was going to disappear the moment he releases her from his arms. For the last days he actually waited for this whole bubble to disappear, to wake up in the morning and realise that this whole giving it a try thing was just his dream, a wonderful work of his imagination. But now it felt real; she was so close, he could feel the warmth of her body against his, her scent present all around him, her hand playing with the hem of his t-shirt, her fingertips accidentally brushing his skin every now and then, giving him goosebumps. Yes, she was really there and it wasn't a dream and even though he was probably never going to know what it was he had done in his life that he deserved for her to be a part of it, he was the luckiest man in the universe.

They would love to stay like that all they, doing absolutely nothing, but it wasn't possible. They had to get out of the bed sooner or later, even if only to satisfy their growling stomachs, which decided for the right time to be rather sooner. He couldn't really offer her a lot of food, he wasn't even sure if there was anything actually edible in his apartment and it was soon decided, that they'll head for breakfast to her place. So they just changed from the clothes they were sleeping in and soon Sue's apartment was filled with a smell of pancakes and freshly-brewed coffee. He was sitting behind the table in the kitchen, going through the morning newspaper they got on their way and couldn't help but imagine that it was like a scene from a family movies. The only missing thing in the whole picture was a couple of children, walking in and taking their places behind the table as well, waiting for breakfast to eat it with their parents. A corner of his mouth moved up; perhaps in time.

"It seems like it's going to be raining today..." she said, looking through the window after they finished their meal and were drinking their coffee.

"Yeah... That would be it from our plans for a walk in the afternoon. It's cold today..."

"Speaking of what, I have to take something warmer for Emily to put on. I only gave her a thin cardigan because it was supposed to be nice and sunny today." with this words Sue stood up from her place and went to the girl's room. He could hear her talk to Levi, who was lying next to the door, as he always did when Emily wasn't home. Then, a sound of one of the drawers being slid out came to his ears, and few moments she appeared again, holding a small piece of paper in her hand. "What is this..?" she muttered in a questioning voice, eying the note carefully but she didn't understand a word from what was written on it.

It seemed to be written in French, which she didn't know at all. She could be able to learn a lot of things people believed she never would because of her disability to hear, but foreign languages were one of those things that just didn't work. Having a choice between Spanish and French she chose the first one, being told it's much easier than the latter and with the amount of work she had to put into everything, she wasn't up to another huge challenge. Yet it all turned out to be an absolute disaster and the only thing, which had anything to do with languages for her, was recognising when people spoke with an accent.

Jack looked at her curiously and reached out his hand; she passed the paper to him and noticed all the colour drain from his face. He stared at the note for a moment, his eyes wide, terror visible in his features. With shaking hand he placed it on the table and reached to the pocket of his jeans, when he had his cell phone. Muttering curses under his breath he finally managed to touch the right buttons on the screen and make a call. Sue watched him carefully, her heart jumping in her chest, her stomach in knot. What was written there, that it caused such a reaction?

"Is everything okay?" was the only thing he said, when he heard the voice on the other end. There was silence there for a moment. "Crash?"

"_Is everything okay __there,__ Jack? I was called to work at four in the morning, but when I was leaving your daughter was sleeping peacefully, perfectly fine. She didn't..._"

He didn't manage to finish before Hudson moved the phone from his ear and finished the conversation. He pushed few more buttons, starting another one but after listening to signals of a free line for a moment, he reached the voicemail. He tried again, and once more, but it all had the same effect and he threw his phone onto the table in anger.

"Jack, what's going on?" asked Sue, watching him carefully, worry almost eating her.

"Later!" was the only thing he said, when he jumped up from his chair and started to gather his things to leave.

She didn't hesitate to do the same, even though she had absolutely no idea what was going on. She just grabbed her jacket, cell phone, keys, put on her shoes and shouted for Levi to follow her before leaving the apartment, quickly locking the door and running after Jack, who was already half way to the car. She has absolutely no idea how much traffic laws he has broken on the way to Bobby and Darcy's apartment but they arrived there in record time and he run up the stairs, taking few at once. Sue wasn't able to keep up with him and when she reached the right floor and then the door, she noticed it was open. She noticed it didn't look like Jack has just kicked it down but the man was inside. She walked in and realised, that besides the two of them, the apartment was empty. Her heart clenched; even though her mind suggested that they could just walk out, Jack's reaction suggested otherwise. She wasn't even sure how but she managed to but she made her way to him, make him stop and look at her.

"What's going on?" she said, in a voice that clearly told him that he wasn't going to dismiss her now.

He opened his mouth, but nothing left them. He almost jumped when the sound of his ringtone came to his ears and reached to his pocket to take his phone out. There was an unknown number displayed on the screen and it made his state only worse. His hand shaking even more than earlier, he somehow managed not to drop it to the floor and answer.

"_Daddy!_" his daughter's distressed voice was the first thing he heard and it made his heart sink. There were some noises, as if the phone was handed to someone else. "_You really believed that you can run away from us, didn't you? I wonder, what is this wifey of yours going to say when she gets to know that thanks to you she's never going to see this little cutie again..? Or your friend, when he realises that it's all your fault that he'll lose his girl? Really, I thought you were cleverer than that, Jacques._"

The conversation ended before he got the chance to say anything. Seeing the terror in his eyes only become bigger, Sue's fear only multiplied. Jack dropped the phone onto the floor, now completely white and fell to the floor by himself, covering his face with his hands. She kneeled in front of him and pulled the hands away from him to see his face.

"Jack, tell me what is going on!" she said through clenched teeth and the way he looked at her was breaking her heart.

"It's all my fault... They're going to kill them and it's all my fault..."


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N:** I'm sorry I didn't update in quite a while. I had a few troubles with this chapter, but first of all I didn't have much time to work on it. I guess I need some time to get used to the new rythm, but ever since I started working I am almost unconscious, when I come back home and the last thing on my mind is thinking, let alone writing. Forgive me, please. It's going to be a little strange thing to say considering the mood of the chapter, but I hope you're going to enjoy this update.

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She groaned, slowly regaining consciousness. At first, the only thing she could focus on was how much her head was hurting and she had absolutely no idea what was going on. Her initial thought was that she just had to have one of the biggest hangovers in her life, but it actually felt a little different and she also couldn't recall drinking a drop of alcohol in quite a while. Besides, she was pretty sure that she and Bobby were taking care of Emily on the previous evening, so all the more, she couldn't get drunk. Likewise, the surface under her head was way too hard and too cold to be her bed, and the air around was too cool and humid. She opened her eyes and noticed that she was in an empty room with no windows; the only source of light was the light bulb hanging from the ceiling. She realised that she had to be in some kind of a basement or a shelter, but that was pretty much everything she knew.

Her memories were slowly started to come back to her. She remembered the phone, ringing in the middle of the night, but she didn't wake up completely. She did look up, when she felt Bobby carefully get out of the bed and when he kissed her forehead, telling her to go back to sleep, she did so. She knew that he must have been summoned to work, because there was no other reason why he would get up in the middle of the night and not panic. Next time she woke up was because of Emily's scream. She jumped up on the bed and almost fell on her face when she tried to get to the girl as quickly as possible. She had absolutely no idea what caused the girl to make such a sound, but it couldn't be anything good. But, when she got to the living room, she didn't see her on the couch, where she was supposed to be sleeping. And now she was here; whatever happened between those two moments was unknown to her.

She raised herself to a sitting position and looked around more carefully. It seemed she was alone in the room, and it was completely empty. It wasn't small, but it wasn't big either and there were few steps leading to the door on one side of it. If she was the only one to be here, then where was Emily and what was going on? It couldn't be anything good, but she could feel the panic start to rise in her. She wouldn't forgive herself if _anything_ happened to the child; Jack and Sue left their little girl with her believing that she was safe, and she wouldn't be able to bear if anything was wrong with her.

She almost jumped at the sound of footsteps, getting closer to the door. She could also hear the sound as if someone was dragging something, and when the door opened she saw that it wasn't a thing, but a person being dragged. A tall man - whose face she couldn't really see well because of lack of glasses, which she started wearing all the time about a year later – practically threw the woman inside, and she fell hard onto the floor with a loud scream. She looked to be quite short and very slim, her red hair was matted and her whole skin and clothes were covered in dirt and in something, which looked like blood. Darcy could see that her leg was bend in a strange angle, and was most probably broken, and when the woman raised herself slightly to look at the door, which the man slammed loudly, she noticed that she didn't look well. Her first thought was that she had to be kept here for quite a while without much food and water, and it made her stomach clench.

"I swear, you must mistake me with someone! I don't know any Matthew Coldwell, Steven Martins or Jacques Vigoreux!" she shouted, but there was absolutely no response on the other side of the door.

Her hands gave in and she didn't raise herself again, just kept lying on the floor and sobbing. Darcy slowly moved to her; the woman jumped and gasped, when she gently touched her shoulder.

"Calm down, I'm not going to do anything to you." she said and helped her move from the middle of the room to the side of it, and then sit with her back leaning against the wall. "Do you have any idea where we are?"

"Not a clue. I think we were travelling for quite a while, so I guess we aren't in Phoenix, but I don't know, it's all a blur for me."

"Phoenix? As in Phoenix, Arizona?" Darcy's eyes bulged out, and it only convinced the red-head that her theory was right. "I don't know how much time I was unconscious, so I'm not claiming we have to be anywhere close, but I live in DC..."

"I see, but I'm not sure it matters where we actually are... It wouldn't matter if we were in the middle of a city, there is just no way to get out of here... My leg is the best evidence that I tried... I'm Nancy by the way."

"Darcy... Before they brought you here, did you see a little girl anywhere?"

"A toddler, a little longer dark hair, brown eyes, generally a little cutie? Your daughter?"

"No, my friends'... I was just taking care of her..."

"You know her parents? Can you tell me then, who the hell is this Jacques? From what I was able to gather it's her father and they seem to be convinced that I know him or one of his friends, while I have absolutely no idea who they are talking about."

"Her father's name is Jack, not Jacques..."

Darcy's first thought was that those people must be completely mistaken. Then, however, she started to think that although those names were quite different in origin and spelling, they sounded very similarly. The only difference was the first sound, one of the names was read by dzh, the other one by zh. Was it possible that it was the name Hudson used during his time undercover? It would be quite understandable, because the chance that he wouldn't react to his name would be lowered then. Were the people, who Nancy was talking about, the very same people Jack was investigating? Was it possible they wanted a revenge on those agents, who were infiltrating them and decided to teach them a lesson by taking those they cared about? This theory would work with Emily, but what about Nancy, who claimed not to know anyone? And what about her, who had absolutely nothing to do with it other than babysitting Jack's daughter?

"Is she okay?" she asked, and Nancy shrugged.

"I guess she's as fine as she can be... She's scared and when she's awake she keeps calling out for her parents, but physically she is okay. I heard the boss say, that as long as they don't have Jacques, she can't be touched."

Darcy sighed; it wasn't a huge relief considering that she hoped that they were going to be found soon, but if the woman was telling the truth, Emily was okay right now. She would prefer to have her somewhere closer, to see her with her own yes, and perhaps try to give her at least a small support, but there was nothing she could do. She could only pray that the FBI was going to move heaven and earth to find them and succeed.

At the same time, Sue was sitting on the couch in her apartment, where she didn't even know how she got to. She also had no idea when her best friend got there and what happened with the rest, but she was sitting in her living room, holding her daughter's teddy bear, the same one, which's leg was torn out on the previous afternoon. It was as she wasn't aware of the time passing, after she found the toy and sewed the leg back to the rest, she just kept staring at the floor, not paying attention to anything around. She couldn't even cry anymore, she didn't seem to have anymore tears left but her eyes were red and puffy. Jack's face was still in front of her, the pain in his eyes breaking her heart and even though she didn't want to be believe his words, the way he was looking at her convinced her that he knew what he was talking about.

Lucy watched her carefully, full of worry. Just like everyone else, she was terrified by the whole situation. None of them had any idea what could happen to Darcy and Emily, and Jack seemed to be the only person able to say anything more about the people, who took them, but the higher-ups believed that he shouldn't work on the investigation. The two men, who also survived the whole mission were nowhere to be found; when it came to one of them, they at least knew that he flew to the other part of the country, but Steve seemed to vanish into thin air. Without them they didn't really know who they were fighting with, and even though he wasn't convinced it was a good idea, Dimitrius was trying to get the bosses to let Jack work with them on this investigation, and also Bobby, who absolutely refused to stay at home and wait.

Even though Lucy knew, that her friend's husband could be very useful to the task force, she couldn't stop thinking that it should be him sitting at Sue's side, not her. The blonde woman didn't even seem to acknowledge her presence, no matter how much she tried to get her attention. She believed that if anyone there was able to get to her, it would be Jack, but when she arrived at Bobby's place, she noticed that something wasn't right. She kind of expected to find him holding Sue in his arms, trying to give her as huge support as possible, but instead she saw him stand next to the window and stare outside, while the person trying to calm Sue down was Crash, who was also sending furious looks in Sparky's direction. She didn't see what he did; she had no idea that Jack was standing like this for quite a while, and Sue approached him, so they could at least try to give the support to each other, to give him at least a little of her hope that their daughter was fine, but he just moved away from her and ignored her all along. She didn't know that it was another blow to Sue's already battered heart, but it didn't stop her from being angry at the man.

She heard him admit that it was his fault that they were gone, that he is sure that those people took Emily in revenge, even though Darcy's disappearance ruined his theory a little. There was absolutely no reason why they should take her, but the phone call from one of the higher people in the FBI, which D. received assured them, that Hudson was right. Yet, even though it seemed that he was indeed the cause for this whole situation, she couldn't say that she believed he shouldn't come back. It was quite a short time, during which she could watch Sue being back with him, but she could see that he was making her really happy. For this time, Lucy could see the old Sue back in her friend, the very same, who she believed was gone after the news of his supposed death reached them. And even though for Emily it was something completely new, and her mom was always making sure that her life was great, Lucy saw that Jack's presence had a positive influence on the girl's life as well. It seemed, however, that as much as he could make their life wonderful, he could also make them a real hell, because she was pretty sure that it was how her friend was feeling right now.

She looked at her phone; there were no new messages or missed calls from anyone. She also realised that it wasn't a long time, which passed since she said goodbyes to her friends and brought Sue home. Now she wasn't sure it was a good idea, because she realised that every little nook of this place was in some way connected to her daughter, and she didn't know if it was a good or a bad thing. She touched Sue's shoulder, she didn't even know for which time over the relatively short time, and was surprised that her friend actually raised her eyes to look at her.

"They're going to find her, Sue... Jack isn't going to let _anything_ happen to Emily..." she hoped it was going to make her feel better, but she only noticed some new tears come to the blonde's eyes and flow down her cheeks. Lucy wasn't sure if she has ever seen her friend so devastated; the only situation she could compare it to was the moment when she was informed that Jack died, and she didn't know if it wasn't worse now. It was quite understandable, but it seemed as if the only way to make Sue feel better was to return her little girl to her. They could only pray it was going to happen as soon as possible.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N:** Another chapter, yippie! Sorry for the ending, it can seem a little hasty, but I really wanted to give this chapter to you today as I'm not sure when I'll find the strength to write again! I hope you're going to enjoy it.

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He was sitting in the almost empty bullpen behind the desk, which used to be his, and staring at the indefinite point in front of him. It was still a little difficult for him to believe that he was allowed to be there, considering his close relation to one of the kidnapped people, but it seemed that the higher-ups had no other choice but to let him work with his old team. It was one of those things he was glad for; if there was any team in this building capable of leading this investigation, it was this one. Yet, he expected that one of the first things he would say was going to be that he should go home and wait for any news, but it didn't happen. Yes, it was obvious that it wasn't the decision they made gladly, but still he heard that his knowledge of the people they were trying to find might be quite useful, and he was the only one of the three people, who came back and was available right now.

It was at this point when he realised, how poorly he actually knew the two men he spent most of the last three years with. It was easier for him to tell what hockey team they were fans of, or what food they liked to eat, or what was the thing, which annoyed them the most and other those kind of things, but he didn't really know the basics. For some time he didn't even know that Tom was Tom; he has met him as Matt, and only during their travelling around the USA he admitted that his real name was Thomas, but everyone called him either Tom or Tommy. And only by accident he got to know that the men was from North Dakota; he suspected that if they didn't happen to get this chance to contact the headquarters, he wouldn't have known anything about his family or where he came from. It also seemed that he didn't know quite a lot, as he was really surprised when he learned, that he didn't go to North Dakota when they parted on the airport, when Jack and Steve went to the plane going to DC. He was convinced it was the place, where they should look for him, but then he was informed that he went to Arizona and they couldn't get in contact with him now. And Jack had absolutely no idea why he would go to that state; he never heard Tom mentioning anything about this place, but the truth was that they never really discussed it. They only talked about Jack's family – and only once; the only reason for that was that the picture of Emily must have accidentally slipped out of his pocket, Tom found it, and they knew all along that he had a wife he wanted to go back to, after all he was one of those, who were supposed to leave that fateful day.

But, when it came to Tom – he realised that he didn't even know his real surname, it was still better than with Steve. Jack didn't even know if it was his real name or just an alias; he didn't mention having anyone in DC, even though he arrived there with him. It also dawned on him that he wouldn't even know where to look for him; it always seemed to be Steve finding him at the time when it was needed. Now he not only didn't know where he could be or where he was actually staying, but he wasn't even sure if his sudden disappearance wasn't suspicious. He didn't really want to think that the man, who saved his life and who he spent most of his undercover time with, could be in fact on the side of the organisation, but his mind was giving him a lot of scenarios and it was only one of them, and probably one of the most probable ones. There was also this possibility, that he was taken as well, but he doubted it; from what he was able to observe, Steve was one of the most careful people he's ever met and wouldn't allow himself to make even slightest mistake leading to being found.

He guessed he wasn't going to know the truth until they find him, but right now he was the only one of the three left, and he was kind of thankful for it. He couldn't imagine that he would have to sit at home and wait, unable to act; he knew that the possibility that they were going to find Emily and Darcy unharmed was really low, but there was this hope deep in his heart, which he decided to focus on. Even though his mind was telling him that it was hopeless, he had to at least try to find his little girl and bring her back to Sue, he owed it to her wife. It was all his fault that she was taken, of this he had no doubts, and it was the very least he could do. He couldn't even ask her to forgive him, he had no right for it and if it turned out that their daughter wasn't going to return home safe and sound... He didn't even want to think about it; he didn't want to believe that because of his stupidity something might happen to this little darling, whose only fault was that she was his child. He wouldn't be able to look into Sue's eyes again, he wouldn't even be able to make her see him; she would have every right to hate him, what she would surely do, and all this would completely destroy him.

He shook his head, he had to stop thinking this way. It was very difficult for his thoughts not to drift this way, when in the corner of his eye he could see Bobby, sitting behind his own desk. He was allowed to stay as well, even though initially he was supposed to be taken off the investigation. Only when he made a scene, that he had the same right to be a part of it as Jack had and categorically refused to leave, saying that he wasn't going to stay away and watch. They finally agreed for him to stay as well, but it made Jack only feel worse. He didn't even want to look at his friend, he had the right to hate him as well. Darcy wouldn't be in any danger if they didn't want to give him a chance to spend some time alone with Sue, he was actually surprised that they have taken her as well, but whatever was their reason, her life was at risk, too. Probably even more than Emily's, because they could use their daughter to lure him, while they completely didn't need Darcy.

They both jumped, when Myles stormed into the bullpen and looked at him with eyes full of hope, but he only sent him a guilty look. He had news, but definitely not the kind they were looking forward to hear.

"It seems that one of your friends suddenly decided to show up, Jack. D. is trying to convince the higher-ups now that you are still useful, and they should let you work with us even if you were asked to remain here now."

"Yeah, this way we aren't of much help at all, and only get more annoyed." barked Bobby, showing his displeasure at the fact that the whole team was in the conference room, while they had to stay there but both decided not to do much fuss in order not to be kicked out completely.

"You can stop now, because I was sent here to do the honours and invite you to join us."

They were at their feet within a second and almost ran to the conference room. Everyone's head turned to look at the door, when they almost stormed inside, and they had to be quite a look, but it was one of the last things they cared about. There were three chairs left and Jack's eyebrows moved up at the sight of Tom, sitting next to Tara. He wasn't really able to explain it why, but he actually expected to see the other one of his 'friends' there. Not that he had any preference, but since Steve has already been in DC, it was more probable for him to suddenly show up.

The truth was that they were pretty much nowhere. The only recording they hoped they would have let them down, because the camera just broke short time after it recorded Bobby walking out of the building after being summoned to work. The case was actually forgotten, given to another team and their whole focus was on finding Emily, Darcy, and as it turned out, one more person named Nancy. She was the main reason why Tom even thought of coming to DC, but it was when the lead led him to after she suddenly vanished and he realised that it wasn't accidental. He also realised that the sole fact that they went to DC might not be accidental either, and even though he wasn't sure it was even in their plans, he decided to go there as quickly as possible to warn Jack, but he turned out to arrive too late.

"I was supposed to leave yesterday morning, but there were problems with control tower and all the planes were delayed... I would have arrived in time to warm you if I had travelled as planned..." he said, before Jack was able to start shouting at him "And don't tell me I could call, because it's not like I have your phone number."

Jack only nodded, but one look at him was obvious that he didn't happily agree with him. Yet, he couldn't deny he was telling the truth, because they really didn't exchange phone numbers. Jack actually purchased his new cell phone after arriving in DC, and suspected that Tom did the very same thing, only in Arizona.

"Do you have any pictures of this Nancy?" asked D., who was this time working along with them and Tom shrugged.

"It was taken almost ten years ago, but she didn't change much. Her hair is only a little longer." he placed a photo of himself and red-headed woman on the table, and they could see that it wasn't very recent.

He could be right and she might have not changed much, but he definitely have. And if he didn't tell them the amount of time difference, they would have sworn that much more than ten years must have passed since that sunny day. Dimitrius attached the picture to the board, next to the ones of Emily and Darcy. But even though they had everything they knew written there, it wasn't even enough to give them a good lead.

"Don't worry, Jack. It seems that they have something other in mind than just killing them, otherwise Nancy would have been dead a long time ago" said Tom, when everyone parted to do the tasks they were assigned and the two of them stayed in conference room, to together prepare good information about who they were looking for. Hudson believed that it was a waste of precious time, but didn't say a word.

"This Nancy... She's your girlfriend..? Fiancée..? Wife..?" he couldn't help but ask, and Tom snorted in response.

"Not everyone is as lucky as you are, Jackie. I've met her during one of my undercover missions, tried to get her attention for most of it and all I got was three months of dating and one night we have spent together... I'm pretty sure she hates me now, convinced I used her, and she has every right to do so because I acted like a casual asshole, simply vanished into thin air in the morning... I didn't even get the chance to tell her that I loved her, she didn't even know my real name. I was checking on her every now and then, but it was the first time in nine years I got to see her. We didn't even exchange one word, I was careful so she wouldn't see me but they somehow knew, what she meant to me. I have to find her, I owe it to her. If I just left her at peace, she would lead a perfectly happy life, unaware of the fact that she once dated one of the worst kind of guys a girl could."

"You at least kept your distance, I was too selfish to think about the possibilities... I just wanted to be a part of my daughter's life, to have Sue back..."

"And don't reproach yourself for that. With Steve, we knew that it was going to be this way, this is why he decided to accompany you instead of following his usual suit and flying to Maine, to visit his wife's grave. He knew that you aren't going to be careful and he decided to do it for you, so he could warn you in case there was danger. Your friends seem to believe he's involved in all this, what is the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard."

"What is your theory then? Why did he disappear like that? And why didn't he actually warn me if you claim that's why he came with me?"

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it'll turn out to be a very good reason. By the way, why don't you go home and be with your Sue? I'm certain she could use your company, and I am going to be perfectly fine doing this by myself."

"She has a company of her best friend, and I'm sure she's going to be as fine as she can be with her child being missing and in danger."

"Don't you think she'd prefer your company instead of this friend's?" Jack could see the fire of anger appear in the man's eyes at the sight of his face expression "Seriously, Jack? You didn't stay away when it would be the most reasonable thing to do, but you want to do it now, when she actually needs you? Don't you think it's a little too late? Your daughter is missing and she is hurting as hell; do you really think that by distancing yourself from her, you're going to make it easier for her?" Jack shrugged, and for a short moment thought, that Tom was going to hit him. "I am not going to say that you shouldn't blame yourself, because it is very much your fault that this little girl of yours is missing, but it only means more that you owe her any support she needs! And you are going to go home now and be with her, because you aren't going to be of much use here while you could be there! I am perfectly capable of doing this by myself, and I have a way better knowledge about those people than you do, so don't start to "but" me."

Hudson could see that his friend was pretty adamant. It actually looked like he was going to throw him out if he didn't leave by himself so he just stood up and walked out of the room. For a moment he considered going to another room, but the truth was that deep in his heart he knew that Tom was right. He should be with Sue right now, even if only to beg for forgiveness, but they couldn't turn the time back now. If they could, he would probably stay away from her, even if it would break his heart completely. But it was too late now, and thinking of what he would have done if he had the knowledge he did now was even more useless. So he just walked out of the building and headed to her apartment.

He wasn't very surprised to find the door open. Her mind wasn't probably in the best of states, and she had to forget to lock it after Lucy left. But it worked for his advantage, allowing him to go in without alerting her. For a moment he wanted to change his mind and go to his place, but then he caught a glimpse of her on the couch. There was only one small lamp lit up in the living room, and it wasn't giving much light, but enough for him to see what he needed to know how much she was actually hurting. He wasn't able to turn around then; instead he slowly walked towards her and his heart was broken completely, when she looked up at him realising that there was somebody in the room. There wasn't even fear in her eyes, just pain and indifference to the fact that it could be anyone. He didn't know what do to, and was left completely speechless under her gaze. What was he supposed to tell her? There were just no words to describe what he felt.

He found himself falling to his knees in front of her, hiding his face in the material of her trousers. He wasn't able to hold it inside himself any longer and kept repeating that he was sorry, even though he knew that she didn't hear him. It didn't seem to matter though; he was surprised at the sensation of her hands going through his hair and he didn't even know how it happened, but the next thing he knew she was in his arms, pressed tightly against his chest, crying along with him. He didn't let her go, when they calmed down; it was a late night but neither one was up for sleeping. They weren't going to be able to even think about it until their little girl was going to be back with them. They just held themselves, sitting in silence and just the company of the other was enough for both of them.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: **Another long chapter ;) I can't say I like it, but after who knows how many rewriting I just don't see a way to make it better anymore. So yeah, it's not the best of my chapters, but it just had to be written. Please, don't kill me at the end (I'm saying this especially to you, Fanka, remember what I told you!). I used some French in this chapter, and I admit I completely don't know the language (but I have a reason for using it, I'm going to explain it in future chapters), so I used translator to make those sentences. They're probably full of mistakes and I'm open for correcting them but I'd have to know how at first.  
So, here you go, enjoy! And I'll try to give you another update as soon as possible (hopefully around the end of the week).

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They were sitting in absolute silence. They didn't exchange one word for a very long time, but they were completely unneeded. Just the presence of the other was enough for both of them, and it seemed to be speaking much more than any of them would be able to transfer to words. The sensation of holding Sue, pressed against his chest, with her arms embracing him, her so familiar scent present all around him was much more soothing that he would even imagine it could be. It made him realise that he really was the biggest idiot of the universe, trying to stay away from her; she didn't make the fear, the scary thoughts go away, but she was making it all easier to bear. She felt really glad as well; her little girl being missing was one horrible painful thing, but Jack's attitude towards her was only adding the pain to it all. The relief she felt at the sight of him was difficult to describe, and she wasn't even able to be angry at him.

"I can't lose her..." he heard her whisper one moment, and tightened his arms around her in response. It was way too dark for her to see his lips even if she would look at him, and neither one was eager to move to lit the light up. It was the only way he could try to let her know, that she shouldn't think this way, even though he perfectly understood that it was easier said than done. "She is my everything... She was the only thing that kept me going after they said you weren't coming back... Only thanks to her I didn't lose it completely, to the consciousness that this little human I was carrying needed me... I thought about her as about a gift from God... He took you away from me, but left at least a part of you inside our daughter... A much bigger part than I could even imagine before she was born... She is so much like you it hurt, but at the same time it was reminding me that you're always going to be with me, with us... And she was such a wonderful, cheerful baby... Even back then she had this amazing ability to make my day better no matter how horribly depressed I felt... She helped me get over this consuming pain, brought the light back to my life... She's the best thing that happened to me..."

She made a pause, when her voice broke and new tears flowed down her cheeks. He tightened his grip on her, caressed her back and swallowed the lump, which formed in his throat; she didn't really talk much about how it looked for her when he was gone, but others did tell him how much she was hurting and he suspected that their little girl played a huge part in helping her pull herself together. But even if it wasn't this way, he had absolutely no doubts that Emily was the most important part of her life. Sue always had a great maternal instinct and he was certain that her own child was at the same time her whole life.

"Her first word was Sparky..." he heard her talk again and looked down at her, shocked. He could tell she was looking at him, and there were tears glistening on her cheeks, but the lack of light really limited what he was able to see. "I guess she picked it from Bobby's nickname for her, Miss Sparky... Whenever he came to us, he always greeted her with "Hello Miss Sparky" and one day after it I noticed everyone in the room freeze... What I took for babbling was in fact her first actual word... Lucy says it sounded more like "spiky", but none of us ever had any doubts what she meant to say... Even back then, she was unconsciously a daddy's girl... But it was also the first time I _really_ wished I could hear... That I could hear her chatter or those simple words she was picking every now and then and repeating... Sometimes she was looking at me and I could see she was trying to tell me something, but it was unintelligible for me... It hurt so much... I still have some problems sometimes, but it's much easier now that she actually talks... She's a little chatterer, I guess that in a way, it helped me learn to understand her and now I don't feel so horrible when she's talking to me..." there was another pause, and then a sob left her mouth. "I want to hold her in my arms, tell her how much I love her... I just want her back with me..."

"She will be, Sue, I promise..." he kissed her forehead, it didn't really matter that she couldn't know what he said, but he felt as if she knew despite this.

Neither one of them knew how much time they actually spent sitting this way. Some time later they were joined by Levi, who decided that he had enough of lying next to the door to Emily's room, and instead got onto the couch on the other side of Sue, placing his head on her lap. Jack only stood up at dawn to go to the kitchen and prepare the coffee; he could feel that his back wasn't really glad for the way he spent the night in, but he didn't care. All what mattered was being with Sue as long as he could, at the same time ridiculously hoping that it wasn't going to be very long because it would mean that the team had a lead. Thanks to this he was very torn, and a few times already reached to his cell phone to call one of them, but decided otherwise. It was very early, they were working the whole night and if they were to discover something, he didn't want to be the reason for anyone to lose focus. He believed they didn't deceive him and were indeed going to call him the moment they had something, and they didn't let him down. It was about eight in the morning when his phone finally rang, waking up the hope in both of them. It showed an unknown number and his heart sank; he didn't remember the number the kidnappers used to call him earlier and his hands started shaking when he touched the "Answer" button. He let out a sigh of relief when it turned out to be Tom.

"I guess you found a lead if you're calling me." he said, looking at Sue, who was watching him carefully. The lack of sleep was clearly visible in her eyes, but at the same time there was this huge, desperate hope inside them. He really wished they had something and they were going to bring Emily back to her, that he was going to do it, and never see her in such a state again.

"Something better than a lead. We believe we found the place where they're being kept and we know that they're alive." Jack's heart jumped. The surprise on his face, the way his eyes widened when the meaning of those words truly reached his mind made Sue stand up and approach him, unable to wait for him to repeat everything to her. "One of your friends went to get you. Well, both of you as I hear your wife is with the FBI as well, and she might be useful in case your little girl was insistent she wants her mommy."

Jack didn't care if there was anything more the man wanted to say, he just finished the conversation. Whatever he had in mind was completely forgotten and he caught Sue's face and kissed her. He had a huge grin on his face, his heart was beating wildly in his chest.

"They've got them?" she asked, her hands curling into fists holding the material of his shirt, wanting to make sure he wasn't going to walk away or turn around before he answers her.

"They know they're alive and where they are! We're going to get them."

Before she was able to respond he gestured to the door and few moments later they were already sitting with Myles and Bobby in the car. As it turned out, they convinced Manning to go home at one moment as well on the condition that he'll be allowed to go with them to the place where they were kept and go inside with the team, and that Sue will be taken as well. Jack was really surprised to find Steve waiting for them in his car, quite a distance from the old, abandoned warehouses near Centreville in Virginia, but then was informed that only thanks to the fact that he made contact with them, they were able to locate the place. Sue was really grateful, and didn't see a problem with staying in the van with Tara and waiting for the development of the situation, especially that it was always this way for her, but Jack wasn't comfortable with doing the same and voiced it quite loudly at the brief meeting and discussing of the plan.

"It might not be such a bad idea..." said Myles one moment and everyone looked at him surprised, including Jack. He was one of the last people Hudson suspected could be on his side. "They might be alive, but we have no idea how they treat them. Emily is just two, she's probably terrified and who knows what she's going to do. It might be new for her, but you'd have to be blind not to notice that she started to see him as her father and his presence with us can really help us..."

Even though they could see that Leland kind of had a point, they weren't very eager to agree but eventually did when it became clear that Jack wasn't going to give up. So it was decided and they split into four pairs – Jack and Steve, Bobby with D., Myles with Tom and Sue with Tara, the latter two staying in the van.

"Jack!" Sue called out, when they were all ready to start moving towards the building and the man turned around. "Be careful!"

"**I will**." he signed to her, and few seconds later started following Steve.

Sue could feel herself shaking, watching them through the window but they soon moved too far for her to see anything well. Their van was parked quite a distance from the warehouse, so they could remain unnoticed by the people inside it, and she turned to Tara, who had the view from cameras, placed on the men's clothes, at her monitor. They soon split and took the position they agreed on earlier. It was difficult for Jack to hold back all the questions he wanted to ask his companion, but he knew that time for it will have to come later as they needed to be as quiet as possible. They didn't want to alert anyone of their presence, so they had to limit the talk as much as possible, what meant that they only responded to Tara's words in their headphones and in hushed voices. According to Steve, there were only four people inside plus Nancy, Darcy and Emily, but they still needed to be extremely careful in order not to provoke them to do anything to hostages. Soon it became too much for her and she had to get out of the car. She didn't walk away, though, but was standing outside the van, staring at the warehouse and the cool morning air was soothing the dizziness she felt. Her heart was thundering inside her chest and she was whole shaking with worry, for both Jack and Emily. Tara could see that and didn't say a word, just glanced in her direction every now and then to make sure that she was okay.

Just like the plan was, the men got into the building and slowly moved forward from different directions. Jack had a very bad feeling, when they didn't encounter anyone as he and Steve were walking further inside, and then suddenly felt Steve push him aside while the sound of the gun being fired came to his ears. If not for him, he wouldn't even have chance to react and could only hope that the bullet would hit his vest, but at the same time was aware that it wasn't highly likely. The man continued shooting at them and he tried to find any way to aim at him, but the way he landed made it impossible without risking getting shot. Luckily, Steve had a better position and few seconds later the man was down. They exchanged a look, when they got out of their hiding places; they recognized him with no problems.

In their earphones they could hear that they weren't the only ones in this kind of situation, in fact all three twos were. They all handled it pretty easily, and only when Jack turned to look at Steve again he noticed the red spot on his sleeve. His eyes widened, but before he was able to say anything they heard noise and turned around to see another person looking at them, holding a small, rectangular thing. He was another one of those people, who they knew quite well, and the way he was looking at them was at least strange. It was as if they were completely aware that they're going to come, and as if he didn't even care if they were going to shoot him or not and he didn't have a gun.

"Pensez-vous que nous n'étions pas prêts pour cela ? _[Do you think we weren't ready for this?]_" he asked, the corner of his mouth moving up as he pushed the button on the thing, and they heard a short squeaking sound. "En fait, vous nous décevrons pas, nous avons pensé que vous allez nous trouver plus tôt ... _[You actually let us down, we thought you were going to find us sooner.]__" _he dropped the device to the floor and stepped onto it, crushing it.

"Où sont-ils? Où est ma fille? _[Where are they ? Where is my daughter ?]__" _asked Jack and the man only laughed.

"Ce n'est pas grave maintenant, Jacques. Elle va mourir, ainsi que tout le monde dans ce bâtiment. En fait, j'espère que vous allez survivre à voir votre deuil de femme mignonne et continuer à vivre avec la conscience que c'est de ta faute ... _[It doesn't matter now, Jacques. She's going to die, as well as everyone else in this building. Actually, I hope you will survive to see your cute wife grieve and continue living with the consciousness that it's all your fault...]_"

Almost in the very same moment they heard Myles' voice that they found them, coming not far from where they were standing. Jack didn't hesitate, knowing that Steve could easily handle the unarmed man and started running in the direction. He soon found most of them gathered either around or inside one of the underground rooms.

"How dare you even come here, you bastard?! At first you treat me like a whore, and now it turns out that all of this is because of you!" the redhead, who he realised had to be this Nancy Tom mentioned, kept hitting the man angrily with her fists.

He looked to the side and noticed Darcy curled on the floor, as well as some blood around her and soon was pushed to the side by Bobby, who noticed her as well and came rushing to her. He looked around once more, and then again but with every passing second he was getting more convinced that Emily wasn't there. Only when Tom shouted at her to calm down because he was here to get her out, Nancy calmed down and noticed Jack. She immediately guessed that he had to be the father of this little girl she saw earlier.

"Hey, you!" she shouted at him and groaned when he didn't pay attention to her.

"Jack!" tried Tom, and this time Hudson's head turned into their direction.

"There is a locked door on the right side of the hall, they kept her there."

Jack nodded his head and rushed out, followed by Myles. They found the mentioned door with no problems, but had to struggle quite a lot to actually open it. And then, finally, they gave in and Jack stormed inside, looking around. At first he didn't notice anything; the small window near the ceiling wasn't giving much light and it was quite dark there. He walked further in, having no reason not to believe the woman that his daughter was there. He didn't see Emily curled in the corner of the room, hidden in the shadow and at first, she didn't really recognize him, as she could only see a shape of a person. But then he stepped into the light and she screamed.

"Daddy!" he immediately moved to her, dropping to knees and sweeping her into his arms. He hugged her tightly, holding her as he heard and felt her cry, carefully standing up.

"We have to go, Jack. Steve says there is a bomb and it's going to explode soon."

"It's okay, Honey, I'm here... Shhhh, don't cry, you're safe now..." he kept saying, slowly following Myles out, holding the child against his chest.

They saw the rest leaving and were almost out as well, when a noise and scream came to their ears. Jack recognized the voice as Steve's and stopped. A part of him wanted to get out as quickly as possible and carry the girl straight to Sue, but at the same time he believed that he should go, see what happened and help Steve get out in case it was needed. He owed him his life and when Myles called out to him, he has already made the decision. He passed the girl to Myles, ignoring her discontent moan and noticed a surprise appear on Leland's face.

"Take her to Sue."

"You can't stay here, we have to get out or we'll die."

"I know and that's why you have to take her and get out of here as quickly as possible!"

He didn't explain anything to him and didn't wait for any response, just started to run to the place where he believed Steve's voice came from. He found another room, just like the one they found Emily in and noticed that in contrast to the other one, this one was full of stuff. To his surprise, they were mostly household items; fridges, washing machines, kitchen stoves, and some of them were lying knocked down on the floor.

"Steve?!" he called out stepping in and his eyes landed directly at the timer. His heart jumped; there was about a minute and a half to the explosion, and no sight of the older man. He called out again and heard a groan coming from the direction of those fallen items. Only when he approached them he noticed that Steve was lying partially under them and gasped. "Steve!"

"Jack..?! What the hell?! Get out of here, immediately!" the man shouted, when he realised that Hudson was right beside him and trying to lift the fridge on his legs. It was much heavier than he suspected it would be, and he guessed that it had to be filled with something very heavy. It was, however, impossible to get anything out because the door to it were on the side facing the floor and it wasn't possible to open them without lifting the thing in the first place.

"I'm not leaving you here." he said and tried again, managing to lift it not even for two inches before dropping it and eliciting a scream from Steve's mouth.

"My legs are crushed, you idiot! Even if you manage to lift this damn thing, I am not going to be able to walk out!"

"I'll drag you out!" Hudson was adamant on trying again, when he felt a fist hit his fingers and shouted in pain.

"Listen to me! Trying to get me out of here is hopeless, the time is running away and there is no way you'll be able to get this thing off me. Your wife has already once thought that you are dead, she doesn't need to experience it again, this time knowing for sure that you won't miraculously come back! I am not going to let you waste your life trying to be a hero and save mine. You have about a minute, and you will use it go get out of here and go to your family! And then you will lead a happy life, perhaps have a few more children, and in a matter of time a nice bunch of grandchildren."

"Steve..."

"No. Do something for me and for once, stop being stubborn as a mule and follow my words! GO!" Jack could see insistence in the man's eyes and he was absolutely torn. What was he supposed to do? Should he listen to him, leave him there for certain death and live with the consciousness that he didn't do everything in his power to save him? Or he should stay and try to get him out, while the time was inexorably passing and it was very possible that he wouldn't make it out on time?

Sue stood outside and almost screamed, when she noticed the people get out of the warehouse. The ambulance Tara called for just arrived, as well as everyone else, who was informed. Tippy had to actually catch her, to prevent her from running to them; only when they were almost next to them she let her go and allowed her to run to Myles, in whose arms she noticed her daughter.

"Emily!" she shouted and took the girl from Leland's arms.

The child immediately snuggled into her mother, who was holding her tightly against her, relieved that she was there, safe and sound, back with her. She was crying again, only this time there were no dark thoughts inside her head that her little girl can be hurt, because she was very much alive and fine. She still went to the ambulance, so the paramedics could check her and was standing with her back turned to the warehouse when the explosion happened. When the explosive wave hit her, at first she didn't know what was happening. Then she turned around and looked at the building, which was now destroyed and partially on fire; her first instinct was to look around and her heart sank when she didn't notice Jack anywhere. She looked at Tara, who was now standing right beside her and one look into woman's eyes was enough for her to understand everything. She glanced at Emily, then back at Tara and in the next moment she found herself running in the direction of the warehouse, screaming his name.

Myles was the first one to notice her and managed to catch her; she was struggling to get out of his grip, but he was stronger his arms placed around her waist were enough to stop her. He just held her like this, having no idea what to do to try to calm her down, but a moment later he felt her stop fighting him.

"No..! It can't be..! Jack..!" her screams changed to sobs and soon she was crying out loud.

He could feel that if it wasn't for his arms, she would fall to the ground. He tightened his grip, pressing her against his chest and in the next was taken aback by her turning around and burying her face in his chest. He's never been good at comforting people, and he held her a little awkwardly and had the words that it was going to be okay at the end of his tongue, but then he bit it. He glanced at the remaining of the warehouse; there was no doubt that they were going to turn the place upside down in attempt to try Jack, but they didn't even see him running out before the explosion. There was only one door to the building, the one they used to get inside before splitting and unless there was another one, they had no idea about, which Hudson could use to get out, the chances of finding him alive were pretty low. He didn't dare to voice those thoughts, he once witnessed what was happening with Sue believing that her husband was dead and didn't want to see it again.

"You wouldn't dare doing this to her again, Jack..." he whispered to the air and slowly started to pull the woman in the direction of the rest.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N:** I can't believe I actually wrote this chapter, and I'm really publishing it today, when I'm barely conscious... Well, I don't have much to say... Just that I hope you're going to enjoy!

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It wasn't a surprise for anyone that a huge group of people was going through what was left of the warehouse, searching for Jack and Steve first of all – alive. Myles and Tom, who were the only two remaining at the place from the task force, which was entering the building, were making sure that they didn't think about finding a body or remains. The rest has split. Dimitrius convinced Sue that staying there wasn't a good idea and she should focus her attention on her daughter instead, take her home when the girl would feel safe and make her feel that everything was fine. It took a moment, but the woman agreed, the point about her child definitely reaching her very well. Bobby left in the ambulance with Darcy just a short while after they got out, and as for now he didn't contact them but they didn't see a problem in it. It was probably the last thing on his mind. Tara accompanied Nancy; she was taken to the hospital as well so her leg could be taken care of, and then Tara was going to help her find a place to stay somewhere in DC for as long as it would be needed. Originally, it was supposed to be Tom on Tippy's place, but it seemed that Nancy wanted to have nothing to do with him, so in order not to make the redhead more upset, Tara agreed to replace him.

Myles sighed heavily, feeling like a horribly long time passed and they still haven't found anything. It definitely wasn't a good sign, but he was pushing away any thoughts that Jack might not be fine. He had to be alright, he wouldn't have done such a thing to Sue again. The thought of him being dead almost crushed her once, and this time it would definitely fully happen, and the man had to be aware of it. What was he thinking, giving Emily to him and running back into the building? If it wasn't for the child in his arms, who really needed to be carried out, he would have followed him. His friendship with Sue might have not started in the best of ways, but he was quite fond of her, as well as Jack and their child – not that he was going to admit it quite openly. He definitely didn't want to see her as devastated as she was earlier again. He was actually ready to push Hudson into the car and drive him straight to his wife the moment he would be found.

He never really voiced it, but he thought it very unfair that the two seemed unable to lead a truly happy life. At first there were those three years, during which they were so obviously in love that the whole building knew about that, but neither one of them seemed willing to take a risk. Whether it was because of the rules, which neither of them wanted to break, or for the fear that it might not work out and ruin their close friendship – something nobody would believe to be possible to happen – or perhaps yet another ridiculous reason, which he couldn't even invent, he had no idea. But he definitely did feel very pleasantly surprised, when he heard that after this whole affair with Sue's promotion, they took the needed step and broke those rules in order to be together. He had to admit, that they hid it very well; yes, there seemed to be glimpses that there might be something going on between them now that he thought of it, but as always he marked it as their usual balancing between friendship and love. He has never been able to find out who was the one to reveal their little secret, and maybe it was for the better – he wasn't sure he would be able to stop himself from hurting this person. But what he absolutely couldn't understand was why Jack agreed to go onto this stupid assignment. Was his career really so important to him, that he wasn't willing to give it up to be with Sue? He didn't really believe it and was convinced there just had to be more to this, but he just didn't have enough information. One thing was certain – it started a huge mess and it seemed to be far from being over.

It was late in the evening, there was still no information about Jack and she was feeling worse with every passing moment. The longer it was taking them to find anything, the lower was the chance that they were going to find him alive and the consciousness was making her sick. She couldn't lose him, not now that she finally got him back, got to see what their life was really meant to be and how wonderful it was. She was happy before, but only during this short period of time when she had what she always dreamed about, a husband and a child, as well as the addition of a nice career, she really felt that her life was complete. She could live without a career, but she definitely couldn't without her family and it just couldn't happen again.

She almost jumped when she felt tugging at the edge of her shirt and glanced down to look straight into her daughter's sad eyes. She sighed; she had some difficult time convincing Emily that it was time for bath and going to bed and wasn't that much surprised to see that she wasn't asleep yet.

"What's going on? You can't sleep?" she asked, lowering herself to the girl's height. Emily just nodded her head. "Bad dreams?" this time the child shook her head. "Something hurts?" another shake of head, and Sue sighed again. "Then what is it, Sweetie?"

"Where's Daddy? Emy didn't get a goodnight kiss..."

Sue swallowed the lump, which formed in her throat and blinked few times to prevent tears from filling her eyes. The whole time she was on the edge of crying, but kept repeating herself that she had to be strong, that she had to get a hold of herself for Emily's sake and now the girl was the reason why she almost lost it. What was she supposed to say to her, especially that there was absolutely nothing certain? She didn't want to lie to her child and the truth was that she had absolutely no idea how to answer this question.

"Look, Sweetie..." she couldn't hear herself, but was pretty sure that her voice was shaking. "He couldn't be here now... Why don't you go to bed, try to sleep and if he comes later, I'll tell him to go to you and give you this goodnight kiss, okay?" Emy didn't look convinced but nodded and Sue walked with her to her bedroom, tucking her back in.

"I love you, Mommy." she said and Sue gave her a teary smile. Her daughter has never really been one to say those words often, she was more showing it or just saying back and Sue had no doubts that this had to be caused by what happened to her.

"I love you too."

A while later she left the bedroom and went to her own, sitting on the edge of the bed. Her tears were now freely flowing down he cheeks, she just couldn't stop it any longer. Was it the way it was supposed to be for the rest of her life? She was always convinced that people were getting what they deserved, and was it really this for the two of them? Did her daughter really not deserve to grow up in a full, loving, happy family? Did she herself really deserve to live in so much pain, with the thought of how perfect everything could be if he was there with her? What was it she did, that God was punishing her this way?

She didn't know how much time passed, but she guessed quite a while. She gasped and jumped to her feet, when she suddenly felt a gentle touch on her shoulder. It was dark, she didn't lit up any light and her eyes weren't yet adjusted to the darkness but she could see a dark shape standing not far from her. She felt a twinge of panic, but at the same time, her mind was telling her that the touch seemed familiar. She couldn't be sure if it wasn't just playing tricks, if she didn't feel it this way just because she wanted it to be truth. She reached out to the side and lit up a small lamp, which was giving a very faint light but enough to confirm her thoughts.

"Jack!" she didn't waste a second to throw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him with as much strength as she had in herself.

He seemed to be taken a little by surprise, but then embraced her as well and held her, while she now sobbed into his shirt, relieved that he was fine. He felt her move gentle every now and then, just a gentle brush of her cheek against her or a slight squeeze of her hand; it seemed like she was checking if he was really there, if he was real. Just few minutes ago he was sitting at the edge of their daughter bed, with his heart breaking at the realisation that the girl seemed to be up waiting for him to come and now it dawned on him that she must have been thinking that he might never show up. He couldn't blame her, he probably would do the same, but it didn't make the thought any less painful.

"Thank God, you're alright... You are, right?" she asked, when she slightly withdrew but didn't break the physical contact with him. Her hands were now gently caressing his face, brushing through his hair and he nodded his head. The only reason why it took him so long to get there was that his friends insisted that he should go to the hospital first, but when they heard that he was generally fine, he immediately refused to stay the night under observation and Myles, who was accompanying him didn't say a word against it.

"**I'm sorry.**" he signed a moment later and noticed a questioning look appear in her eyes. "I couldn't just leave... I heard Steve scream and had to check what happened... I wanted to get out, to run out and get to you and Emily but I couldn't... He saved my life once, he was a part of our team, I couldn't just leave like this knowing that something might have happened... I would have never forgiven myself..."

She sighed, but she couldn't feel angry at him. There were few new things to Jack Hudson, which had to develop during those three years when he was away, but this was actually a part of the man she fell in love with. The man, who wouldn't leave anyone behind even if it meant risking his own life, and the truth was that she knew that he would really never forgive himself if he just left the building like he mentioned. She knew him well enough to be aware, that he would reproach himself for the rest of his life, he would always keep on thinking 'what if he stayed', and even though she was torn, she couldn't be mad at him for this.

"You're here now with us, and it's all that matters." holding his face in her hands, she leaned in and kissed him.

They both placed a lot of emotions into this kiss, it was as if everything what happened during the past hours was present inside it and even more. The most important for her, however, was that he was there, with her and if it was up to her, there was no way she was going to let him go. No; unless it was something he didn't share with her, she was going to do absolutely anything to make sure that he was going to remain there, at her side, that they were going to be together and be happy, no matter what it was going to take. There were just two things she needed to live – or actually, people – and it was him and their daughter, the rest completely didn't matter.

"Promise me you will never leave..." she said, when the kiss came to an end and he nodded.

"I promise, Sue... I'm here and if you'll let me, I intend to be for the rest of my life..."

"I love you." she placed another small kiss on his lips, and then felt him kiss her forehead.

"**I love you, too**."

"Show me..."

His eyes widened a little, it was one of the last things he actually expected her to say. In his mind, it just seemed so unlike her, but he guessed he could be just being ridiculous and, definitely, over thinking. But they were just recently back together, and so what that they were married, so what that they had a daughter and no, it wouldn't be anything they haven't done before, but he still was a little afraid that they could be rushing things... But he could see in her eyes that she really meant it and after a moment just silenced his mind and allowed his heart to act, leaning down and capturing her lips in a kiss way more passionate than any of those they shared recently.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N:** Today a little shorter uptade, but this way all you're going to get is pure fluff :) That's the reason why it took me so long to actually write this chapter, but I certainly hope you're going to like it. I take absolutely no responsibility for the state of your teeth, or too high sugar lever in your blood after reading it :P And now, I certainly hope you're going to enjoy! :)

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On the next morning she woke up to the feeling of fingers, gently moving over her head, hair, shoulders and soft, tender kisses being placed all over her face. At first she was a little taken aback, but then all the events from the previous evening came back to her, and a small smile appeared on her face. It alerted the man that she was awake, and she felt the kisses stop; she opened her eyes and gazed straight into a pair of warm, chocolate ones filled with so many feelings she could feel the warmth spread from her heart.

"Good morning." she spoke, and the initial response she got were his lips, capturing hers in a loving kiss.

"A very good one." he said, his voice a little husky and smiled back at her. "How did you sleep?"

"Like a baby…" only now she had the opportunity to look at him better, and a smile immediately faded from her face.

She noticed scratches and small bruises, present on his skin; she didn't notice them yesterday, but she had to admit that it was one of the last things she focused on. Touching, feeling were the two of her senses which were working much more and even though those didn't look serious, she still felt bad for not noticing them. At first she started to wonder if he didn't have any more serious injury, but then she realised that if he had, he probably wouldn't be there with her, but in the hospital. He was surprised by the sudden change in her and groaned, realising what was the reason behind it.

"I'm fine, _really_." he leaned closer and brushed his lips against her forehead. "Well, I guess I could be better if we could spend the whole morning in bed, lying cuddled…"

"That's a very tempting idea, however I'm afraid that it's not really possible…" his eyebrows raised moved up, he couldn't really see the reason why it would be impossible. Sue glanced at the clock and continued. "Our daughter is going to be up soon."

"She can always just come here, there is enough place for her to lie with us."

"I'd agree if it wasn't for the lack of clothing on either of us…"

"True… But we can always put something on and come back here…" he could see, that she was thinking very hard to tease him with another argument why they couldn't just lazy the whole morning and grinned, when it became clear that she couldn't come up with anything.

It was Sue, who slipped out from under the covers and gathered the clothes, which were lying around the bed, depending in which direction they actually discarded them. She picked them up and was about to give the shirt to him, but then decided against it. She placed them on the chair, standing in the bedroom, and took two of his T-shirts out of the wardrobe. She blushed deeply, when she realised that she was actually walking around the room almost naked and he was watching her, quite intently; she was a little surprised by her own reaction, but she couldn't say that she felt bad about it. Quite the contrary, there was this nice twinge of feeling in her stomach and she sent him a smile before throwing a shirt at him, and putting the other one on. When she approached the bed again, the fact that he wrapped his arm around her and didn't allow her to do anything what might have been on her mind, but pulled her back to himself, was not a surprise for her at all and laughed. They struggled playfully for a moment, laughing and stopped only after a moment, when he pinned her to the bed with his own weight, but careful to support himself as well. She was panting from the amount of laugh and they were both grinning at each other.

"Like a child..." he murmured and kissed her again.

He definitely didn't mind, he didn't see anything bad in acting a little childish every now and then, quite the contrary. And also, as he was watching her, her face lit up by a huge smile on her face, her eyes so full of love, he couldn't feel any happier and luckier. Yes, he definitely was a very lucky man to have a woman like her in his life, such a wonderful, loving, caring, understanding person Sue was, and many, many more. He could never understand how a lot of people just wasn't able to look past her deafness and see this, while the truth was that her disability to hear was probably one of those things, which in a way, made her this special creature, who he couldn't imagine living without. Yet another thing why he was incredibly lucky was that she actually decided to give them a second chance, he guessed that a lot of women on her place wouldn't or even if they would, for their child's sake, they would still keep their distance but he could see that she really wanted to trust him completely again, and her behaviour hinted that she was on the best of ways towards it. What would he do if she decided otherwise, he didn't even want to wonder and was going to be grateful forever for the turn of events.

The kiss lasted longer than the previous one, and was followed by another, and the next one. He only unwillingly moved away from her when he heard the sound of the door handle being pressed and jumping back up without the door opening, twice. He could hear a slightly irritated huff from the other side and slowly raised himself; he actually forgot they locked the door on the previous evening in case Emily would think of coming to them in the middle of the night, even though it was quite an obvious thing. It seemed Sue forgot about it as well, when he mouthed the name of their daughter to her and she realised that she must have been trying to get to them. Few seconds later he unlocked the door and opened it, looking down into a pair of teary eyes; he suspected that it was something completely new for the girl to find the door closed, especially that if Sue decided to lock it without Levi inside, she would have no way of knowing that anyone was on the other side, trying to get her attention.

"Oh, come here." he picked her up and then walked back to the bed, placing her on it and getting back in. Emily immediately snuggled to her mom, and he moved closer to two of them as well. Few seconds later he heard the sound of paws approaching them quite quickly and groaned loudly, when Levi's paws landed directly on him. He shared a look with Sue, and sighed. "Okay, okay, you too." he patted the bed and the dog jumped onto it, laying down in the legs, across the mattress, with his head turned in their direction. "I think it just got a little crowded here..." he mumbled, eliciting a giggle from both of his girls and smiled slightly as well.

Their eyes were fixed on Emily, who soon dozed off to sleep, cuddled to her parents. All the events had to be really difficult for her and they were both surprised, that she spent the whole night in her own bed, because they kind of expected her to come to them, tormented with bad dreams or simply unable to fall asleep. Yet, the fact that she was sleeping now, and it seemed that it wasn't just a shut-eye, was a good evidence that the night must have not be one of those easiest ones for her. Jack glanced up at Sue, who was gently stroking the child's hair, her eyes never leaving the girl's face; he was quite certain that she felt the same way he did, so relieved and grateful that she was safe and sound with them. What would they do if it didn't turn out this way, he wasn't even able to make himself try to imagine, it was such a complete abstraction that his mind couldn't create this image. There was no way he wouldn't do absolutely anything so she would be fine, even if it meant he would have to give up his own life for hers, and he would do that without a moment of hesitation. For her, and for Sue as well.

He never thought that he would one day fall in love with the woman the way he did with Sue. No, when he was younger he was sceptical that this kind of love actually existed and now he could see how ridiculous he was. When he met Sue, it all just fell into place and even though he wasn't struck by this feeling but it developed over time, the attraction was there since the beginning. He never really told that to anyone, but his relationship with Rhonda ended so soon after meeting her because the woman just couldn't take anymore of his constant talking about Sue, how great she was, what a great attitude towards people she had and millions of other things. _"If she's so great, why don't you date her instead?"_ she asked him then, and man, he would if it wasn't for the whole anti-fraternization rule. Sometime later Allie was suddenly back in his life, but it was probably one of the shortest attempts at trying to make it work they ever had. No, he was lost for all the women around for the one he actually couldn't have. How much he wished, that when they finally decided to take the needed step, they weren't so stupid to hide. If they had gone to D., told him about everything and asked about their perspectives, all the drama that followed would have never happened. He liked to believe that they would have been happily married, Emily would have a brother, or a sister, or perhaps both, and they would generally lead a blissful life together. Was it ever going to be possible for them now he didn't know, but he was quite adamant to do what it would take, so they could have a life like this.

Soon the whole apartment was filled with the smell of pancakes, after their stomachs reminded them that they should eat something. Sue knew it was what probably the favourite breakfast of both, Emily and Jack, and she was going to spoil them a little (or if everything was going to go the way she hoped it would, even a little more than a little), just because she could. Yes, with the two of them her life couldn't be better and they definitely deserved to see it.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: **We're not really moving forward here, but well... There are some things that I believe can't really be omitted... Well, I hope you're going to like this chapter while I'll try to update again as soon as possible.

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Later that day, Jack and Sue entered the hospital with the intention of paying Darcy a visit. They both knew that the woman had to stay there, and they both felt a little bad that it was their whole knowledge about her state. Jack was too focused on finding Emily to pay attention to Bobby and his girlfriend when they were inside the warehouse, while Sue just wanted the two of them out and with her and in result, didn't even register that Crash and Darcy were out before she heard the sound of an ambulance and Tara told her that it took the two to the hospital. It was obvious, however, that whatever happened to her wasn't just a minor thing because then, she wouldn't be staying there. They were very surprised, when they left the elevator at the floor they were told she was at, and found out it was gynaecology. They exchanged glances, and then looked around for anyone who could point them to the right room, but instead of nurse or a doctor, they noticed Manning standing on the corridor in company of the man they have never seen before. Neither of them was sure what to expect, definitely not an ecstatic reaction of their friend when he noticed them, but he barely nodded his head in acknowledgment of their presence.

"She had a miscarriage..." he finally said, his eyes filling with tears, breaking the longer while of complete silence. They didn't want to push him into telling them what happened, they knew that he would do it if he wanted them to know and they were right. Sue looked at her husband, unable to judge the way he told those words and Jack understood her questioning look with no problems. He shook his head, because there was absolutely no blame in Bobby's voice, what she was afraid of. She was just about to say something, when the door to the room opened and the doctor left, telling them that they could go in. "Go to her, Sue. She'll be glad to see you."

She did as he told her and slowly stepped into the room. There were two beds inside, both occupied. The first one, standing closer to the door, was occupied by the woman she didn't know, at whose side she noticed the same man, who was outside with Bobby. She went further inside, her eyes landing on the other bed. Darcy was lying on it, with her head turned in the direction of the window. She was a little pale, there was a bandage on her head and dark circles under her eyes. She jumped slightly, when Sue gently placed her hand on her forearm to give her a sign that she was there.

"Sue, hi." she said quietly and a forced smile made its way onto her face. "How's Emily?"

"She's perfectly fine, how do _you _ feel?" Darcy shrugged in response.

"Did Bobby tell you?" Sue nodded and Darcy sighed. "The doctor says that it was an ectopic pregnancy and no matter what, we wouldn't have this baby..."

"But it still hurts." finished Sue and got a nod from her companion. She gently squeezed her forearm, wanting to give her at least a little support, let her know that she was there for her if she needed her.

"If it wasn't for the complications, I wouldn't even know I was pregnant... I was so lost in my work lately, that I didn't even notice the symptoms..."

"I didn't realise I was pregnant until my mom forced me to make a test at about nine weeks... I didn't have any nausea, and I just blamed stress and fatigue for everything else... Sometimes it just happens this way, and it's not a reason to reproach yourself..."

While she was inside, both men were sitting on the chair outside the room. Jack wasn't sure if he has ever seen Bobby in such a state, and even though the man told him it was inevitable and it was obvious he was aware of it, it still pained him. He never struck anyone as a kind of guy who would want to settle down and have a family, he was actually showing everyone the exact contrary of that and he wasn't sure it was something for him. He might have started to finally grow up or it was just the influence on spending so much time with Emily and seeing how much joy a child could bring into life, and having one on his own would probably be even greater experience, but he really started to think about family more and more serious. And just two days earlier, when he and Darcy were taking care of Hudsons' daughter, he got certain that yes, he really wanted to have a treasure like this, too.

The consciousness that there was absolutely nothing he could do to make her feel better, that he could only be there for her but that was it, didn't make it easier, quite the contrary. He could see that she was reproaching herself, even though they both knew that it wasn't her fault in any way, that there was nothing she could do to prevent it but it seemed to be meaningless. Whenever he told her, that she shouldn't blame herself she only started to cry more, and he held her, biting his tongue afraid that anything he might say was only going to make it all worse.

She wasn't the only one, who couldn't stop feeling guilty. Even though he tried really hard not to show it, and somewhere deep in his mind he understood that he didn't have any influence on it, Jack still felt bad and Sue could see it very well. She didn't say anything, though, not until they arrived at home after a short stop at Lucy's to take their daughter. The girl immediately ran to them and clung to Sue; she wasn't sure if it was caused by the terrifying experience or she simply had a worse day, but she was very clingy, what happened to her very rarely. She wasn't happy when they brought her to Lucy, deciding that it was better for her to stay there instead of accompanying them to the hospital, and for the first time made a huge scene. Lucy and Bobby were the two, who Sue always liked to leave Emily with because she knew, that the girl wasn't going to have problems with it and was very surprised by her outburst, when she and Jack were to leave.

"She must have been terrified..." said Lucy, when they were getting ready to leave. "She has always had someone with her, someone she trusted and even if it wasn't always you, you were always a phone call away... Imagine how she must have been shattered, when she was completely alone and the only people coming to her were complete strangers..."

"I don't even want to, Luce." was the only thing Sue managed to say.

She knew that her friend was right. She did everything she could to protect her daughter from the evil of the world, always made sure that she had what she needed, as well as was and felt safe. Even though she tried not to, she sometimes heard that she had the tendency to be overprotective; she cared more about not spoiling her daughter too much than about it, but she tried to ensure that she wasn't crossing the line with this as well. Yet, the sole thought of what Emily had to go through was horrible for her; the thought how terrified the girl must have been made her only hug her tighter. If this was what she needed, the closeness, her presence, she was going to give it to her.

"What is it, Jack?" she asked, when she left Emily's room after the girl finally fell asleep. On the previous evening, the fatigue had to make its magic and allowed her to rest when she dozed off, but now it wasn't so easy and Sue was pretty sure that their little girl was soon going to walk out of her bedroom. "It's not your fault that Darcy is in the hospital. It would have happened even if she wasn't taken with Emily..."

"That's not it..." he sighed, looking up at her. "I... My supervisor called me when we were at Lucy's..."

"What did he want..?" Sue's curiosity was raised high, and she sat down next to him.

"He told me that Steve's remains were found... And I agreed to meet with him tomorrow to discuss things further but... He said that the safest thing to do to prevent those people from another attempt to hurt us would be to disappear, at least for some time..."

"What..?! Jack, but... You can't leave us... You promised..!"

"And I am not going to break this promise. It's not only about me, it's about all three of us... They know how you look like, they know where you live, neither of us is safe here anymore... They might not strike soon but as long as they're somewhere out there, we're never going to be safe..."

"Does that mean that they want to put us into the Witness Protection Program?" she asked, afraid of what his answer was going to be.

One thing she was certain about was that she didn't want to see an affirmative answer from him. As much as she knew that they didn't really have much choice, and if it was the only way to ensure that they won't be harmed, she would agree to this, she just didn't want to think about it. She knew what it meant really well, and she couldn't imagine that she would be forced to leave everything and everyone behind, including her whole family, and maybe never see them again. She knew that he didn't feel any different about it; he never even had the chance to introduce the two of them to his family and she knew, that it really mattered to him. He mentioned so to her, and she agreed that when they would have the chance, they were going to go on a trip to Wisconsin, so she and Emily could finally meet his family. It didn't make her feel any better, when she saw him shrug in response, but it was still better than a yes.

"I don't know, he didn't tell me much details... He wants to talk about that face to face, but I'm afraid that's what he might suggest..."

She didn't manage to say anything more, because just like she suspected it would happen, Emily walked into the room. Knowing that it was probably the only way the girl would get some rest that night, she carried her to her own bedroom and placed on the bed, assuring her that she was going to go to sleep soon, too. She was actually surprised by the sight of him, standing close to the door, all ready to leave.

"Where are you going...?" was out of her mouth quicker than she managed to think about it, and he looked at her a little taken aback.

"To my place..?" he watched her walk closer to him, felt her cup his face with her hands and place a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Jack... I might have not done the best work in showing you that, but... Your place is here, with us... Isn't it?" he nodded, of course it was and he actually felt a bit ridiculous to doubt she might feel this way for this short while. "Don't ever doubt that." she knew from experience, that those doubts were absolutely stupid.

She kept doubting them for what was quite short time, but now seemed horribly long. She tried to find reasons why they didn't belong together, why they shouldn't be there only to see, that it was exactly what was right for both of them. She didn't think he wouldn't see that it was like this for her, but she knew that despite his attempts not to show it, he was affected by everything that happened during his time away and perhaps, those doubts were just a part of this. She knew, however, that she was going to make it clear for him, that there was nothing he should have doubts about. She might have been hesitant at first, but it was gone now and she really wanted the things between them to be the way they were before he left, as much as it was possible.

"Come on Jack, Emy needs us and we could both use some rest as well..."

Soon, the whole family was asleep, all cuddled to each other, taking comfort and whatever they needed from each other.


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N:** I don't really like this chapter, but I hope you are going to have at least a little different thoughts... I'll leave you to it :)

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The whole team was happy when Dimitrius was chosen for their supervisor and over the years this never changed. It could be because he was their friend, but they all guessed that even though it could have some influence, he also wanted to be a fair person and knew them well enough to understand the situations they were sometimes finding themselves in, and rarely had any problems with giving them few days off if they needed then, even on particularly busy days. This time she didn't have to ask, she didn't even make it to his office; the moment he saw her in the bullpen he told her to take few days off and spend them with her family. Thanks to this, she was now sitting on the bench in the park, enjoying the warm feeling of the rays of the sun on her skin, keeping an eye on Emily at the same time. The girl was on the playground, located in the centre of the park and surrounded by benches, which were mostly occupied by the parents of those little ones, who were there. She watched her daughter in the sandpit, which she knew Emy always loved to play in; it always meant that another set of clothes was needed when they were leaving and knowing that if only she had the chance to, the girl would go to play there, Sue always had one ready in the bag. Telling her that she couldn't play there because they needed to go somewhere else later would be ridiculous and taking her to the nearest bathroom to change her clothes wasn't a problem.

The park was located near the Hoover building, and they were waiting there for Jack, who went to meet with his supervisor. Sue felt worried about this meeting, because as much as she understood that the best thing for them would be disappearing – at least for some time – she really didn't want it to happen _this _way. She just couldn't imagine being forced to restrain from any contact with people she cared about. Yes it was Jack and Sue, who she couldn't live without and she would have them with herself, but she would still miss her family and friends, not to mention that her parents and brothers would surely worry about her very much. She was sure that her mother would be complaining, especially if she was to hear that it was in a way because of Jack. No, she didn't blame him but she was aware that he was more or less responsible for this situation. Still, all the other circumstances, wouldn't be important for Carla Thomas.

To say that her mother had difficulties accepting the whole situation, when she learnt that Sue married Jack just like that, out of the blue and the man went onto this assignment, leaving her pregnant, would be an understatement. Mrs. Thomas couldn't deny that a part of her hoped that at one point in the future, her daughter will be with the man at least similar to what she believed Hudson to be. She couldn't, however, believe that he would so easily leave Sue if he truly loved her, but what annoyed the younger woman the most was that she completely didn't want to listen to her explanations. She believed that she was just trying to justify his actions, blinded by her love for him, which Carla had no doubts was very strong, even if those words were actually true. She tried to give as much comfort as she could and Sue would accept after the news of his supposed death, but the last conversation with her Sue had didn't go well at all. She was afraid how her mother was going to react to the information that he was very much alive and now back with her, and it turned out that she was right. There was a pause, indicating that Carla was silent for quite a while, and the words, which followed made Sue sure, that at this moment, they had the exact opposite views of what she should do. It seemed her mom believed that she and Emily would be way better without him, convinced that he didn't care about them as much as he should. She kept telling her that she had no idea if he wasn't going to leave again, if he wasn't going to bring troubles upon them because of this whole mission and hundreds of other reasons, until Sue just couldn't take it any longer and just hanged up. Still, she was absolutely certain that if they indeed hid in the Witness Protection Program, showed back up when it was safe and later tell their families what happened, her mother would only get more convinced that she was right.

She was gotten out of her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder, and she turned her face in the direction. She looked straight at Jack, who was standing with her with an expression on his face and in his eyes, which was completely unreadable for her and she couldn't find any hints as to how the meeting went. Jack, on the other hand, could see that she was quite impatient to get to know everything, and knowing that the next opportunity will arise only after their daughter was asleep – assuming it wasn't going to look like the previous night – he sat down on the bench next to her.

"So..?" she spoke up, when he didn't say anything long while after he took a seat next to her, and it was the reason why she was starting to get really worried.

"Well I was able to negotiate and we've got a choice, but I'm afraid you might not like any of the ways..." he looked at her sheepishly. "Just like I thought, Davison suggested the Witness Protection Program and wasn't keen on letting me suggest something less radical, but in the end gave in... I suggested that we might in a way, disappear... At least from here... There still would be risk that they might find us and we couldn't blame the FBI if anything was to happen, but if we were very careful it could work... We wouldn't be able to keep contact with everyone, but we could be in touch with our families..."

"Unless you meant the risk part, I don't really see the reason why I shouldn't like this..."

"That too... But he asked me if I know the place we could go to... I do know one, mentioned it to him and he said that it might not be that bad if we really are going to be very careful... But... It's the area, where I grew up..."

Sue nodded her head, finally understanding why Jack was so hesitant about sharing it with her, even if he had to. If they went there, they would be very close to his family and they had no idea how it would look life for them. They have never met Sue or Emily, and the truth was that she was afraid at the thought that they might one day meet, even though Jack kept assuring her that they were going to love her. Still, she couldn't know until they actually met and the thought that they might not like each other, while they would be forced to live so close - what in small town meant that there was absolutely no way to avoid each other – wasn't very appealing. On the other hand, she had to admit it still seemed better than completely cutting any connection to their current lives. The thought of not being able to contact their friends still hurt, but they were all aware of their situation and would definitely understand, as well as miss her as much as she them...

"Umm... Where would we live there? With your parents..?" was one of the first questions which appeared in her head as she kept thinking about it.

"My grandparents' house is empty, and I'm sure my grandfather wouldn't have anything against us living there for some time... I think he'd even be happy with this, hoping we're going to stay there forever... I can't say it's in perfect shape, but if I talked to my parents, I think they could have it made livable..."

"You were right... I don't fully like neither of those two choices. Still, Wisconsin sounds better than the Program... I see one problem, though. You're from a small town, people know each other and talk... If we suddenly appear there, we're going to be the topic number one, what kind of ruins the idea of hiding there."

"Good point, but my family is generally respected in the local community and we could use it to spread the information that they shouldn't talk about us outside of their little society and shouldn't mention our whereabouts to strangers... We would still be on their tongues, but only of the residents of those two neighbouring towns."

"Are you certain this would actually work?" she didn't seem convinced, because no matter what, one could never be absolutely sure what other people will do.

"Yes. They might be gossipers, but when it comes to sharing the information, they all keep it within the community. It's a specific area, those two towns are a little secluded and people, who come from them don't travel outside of them until they need and whenever someone new comes, they don't have the easiest start... It would be easier for you and Emily because they know me... I am not saying that it's the best idea and we really should go there, but that's all I was able to negotiate... I leave the final choice to you, but I have to tell Davison on Monday at the latest..."

"I think that Wisconsin is quite an obvious choice... As I said, I don't love it but out of those two, it's the better one..."

"You don't have to decide immediately, Sue. Think it through."

"There isn't much to think about and I am not going to change my mind. I can only get more convinced that this one is the right choice. Tell me one thing, though. Why did you suggest it?"

"We needed a place, which would be quite a distance from here, but it needed to be a place where we would have a place to live and work... We could use the house I mentioned, I could work in my family's company and it would go on somehow, until it would be safe to return to our current life."

The talk finished, when Emily ran to them because she wanted something to drink. They decided it was also time for them to slowly head back to the apartment. On the way, and later during working on the dinner, Sue kept thinking about it all and just like she said, she was only getting more convinced that they should choose Jack's home State. She could only hope that Jack's family was really going to accept her and her daughter easily, and now that the thought of meeting the Hudsons was much less abstract, she was a little scared. She didn't know just how much exactly he shared with them, and even though he knew what they were like so he could predict how they were going to act, she felt worried. What if they were going to think that she wasn't a right person for their son? Jack claimed that it didn't matter, that the most important thing for them would be that she was making him happy, but what if it was only what they claimed and in reality, it would be different?

She sighed; if nothing suddenly changed, she was going to see how it all will turn out pretty soon. All this worrying was pointless, because there was absolutely nothing she could do, and perhaps she didn't have to worry in advance. What really mattered was for them to be together and safe, and if it was what they needed to do not to lose everything else they had, she was up for it.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N:** Here I am, with another chapter! I have to admit that we are slowly moving towards the end of this story, but there are quite a few chapters to come, who knows maybe a little more than in my plans right now. As to their choice, I know that's very risky and I have a plan, but that's all I'm going to say. Right now, however, I hope you're going to enjoy this chapter! :)

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Jack stopped the car at the small parking in front of the main gate to the graveyard, and he and Sue got out of it. It was the day of Steve's funeral, and Hudson couldn't imagine that he wouldn't be there. He spent the last three years of his life practically constantly in the man's company, he owed so much to him and appearing there was an absolute necessity for him. Sue decided to accompany him, firstly to give him support as she could see that it was going to be difficult for Jack, but also because she felt she owed it to the man. She remembered Jack mentioning earlier that he saved his life back during the first six months of his absence, but she was pretty sure it wasn't the only time. She was certain that it was Steve, who made Jack leave the warehouse before it exploded; she knew her husband too well not to know, that he would have stayed there till the end, trying to help his friend. But he was there, with her, and for this she was forever going to be grateful.

They noticed a small group of people, standing together in a short distance from them and started walking towards them. They both immediately recognised Tom, standing – much to their surprise – in the company of Nancy, supporting herself on crutches. It seemed she wasn't furious anymore, perhaps they just had an honest talk or she simply tried to show appreciation that he didn't just leave her there, but it seemed that things were okay between them. Not far from there, alone, stood a tall, grayish man, and as Sue later got to know, it was Davison, Jack's supervisor. In the end their eyes landed on the woman in her late twenties and thanks to the resemblance, Hudson realised it had to be Steve's daughter. He guessed that the man, holding her was her husband and the boy and the girl, standing with them had to be their children.

The ceremony soon started and Jack was actually surprised, that they were the only ones to come. He wondered if it was up to the fact, that Steve just didn't have much people, who he would be close with and who could appear there, or they simply didn't arrive but the way it turned out, didn't really surprise him. As they later got to know, it was Steve, who decided not to keep in touch with those, who he cared about. He came from Illinois, but when he accepted the offer of transfer to FBI in DC, and knew that his work would mean undercover assignments like this, he decided to cut all his connection to his life there. He didn't really have much of a choice then, and as much as it pained him, he had to say goodbye to his daughter and leave. Jack understood pretty well how difficult it had to be for him, and when they approached the woman to say their condolences, he didn't forget to mention that her father missed her horribly and thought about her all the time. He might have never said a word about her, but now Jack was sure, that whenever he caught Steve with an absent gaze, lost in thoughts, his mind was with his daughter.

"I always hoped that one day, he'll come back... That he'll get the chance to meet my children, he always kept telling me that his biggest dream is to be able to spoil my child or children one day... He never even got the chance to see them..." her voice broke, and her husband placed his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, stroking her back as she sobbed.

"He watches all of you from heaven right now, and I'm sure he's beaming with pride." added Sue, caught Jack's hand and they walked to the side, making space for Tom, who stood behind them, and later approached her along with Nancy.

"How do your daughter feel? And do you know anything about this Darcy..?" asked the woman immediately, and Sue shrugged.

"Emily is okay... Well, she is a little clingy, and needs someone to be with her all the time, even to sleep, but she's generally fine. As to Darcy, she's still in the hospital but she's going to be okay. What about you?"

"As you can see, other than the fact that I'm going to have my leg in a cast for six weeks I'm fine. Unless you count the fact that I'm stuck with him for this period of time, since he's the only person around here I know..." she gestured towards Tom, who only sighed in response. It seemed that things between the two weren't as good as it could seem at first glance.

"Jack, can we talk for a second?" they were approach by Davison, and Jack excused himself and walked away a little with the older man. "I know I gave you time until Monday, but the truth is that I'm being pressed for some answers..."

"We agreed that we'll go to Wisconsin." stated Hudson and noticed the eyebrows of his supervisor move up.

"We? Your wife wants to go there, too?" Sparky nodded, while the man shook his head. "I see you two are really worth each other..."

"Excuse me..?" Jack didn't really know how to understand his reaction, what it was supposed to imply but pretty quickly noticed that the man wasn't pleased with their choice.

"The only reason why me and the higher ups agreed to this ridiculous idea was that we were all certain that your wife is going to dissuade it. I'm not saying that you wouldn't be allow to follow the option you chose, but you do realise how risky that is? You can never be sure how other people will act, no matter how well you know them. I'm not saying that your family will betray you, but there will be a huge group of neighbours, who could even _accidentally_ say too much to wrong people!"

"You talk as if we haven't thought it through, Sir! We did, and we are aware what kind of risk we choose."

"I thought you would be more reasonably, if only for your daughter's sake... But that's your choice, and as much as I don't wish for my words to come true, don't say I didn't warn you if something actually happens."

"You said that we would be allowed to call the FBI for help, in case we would be in danger..."

"Of course, I never said that I take it back. Well, it's your choice and I have no other choice but to accept it, and perhaps remember for a future not to think about something as about an absolutely certain thing..."

He told him few other things, asked him to come to his office on Monday anyway and soon left, and Jack returned to Sue, talking to Tom and Nancy. They soon decided that it was time for them as well, and the Hudsons' had to agree that it could apply to them, too. They should head back to Lucy and take their daughter home, but they agreed to go for a walk first. It wasn't a beautiful day, in contrary to what they were getting lately; it was cloudy and the air was cool, but it didn't really matter for them. She knew that it might help Jack calm his emotions at least a little, while he really needed that. Attending a funeral was never an easy experience; no matter what, it always meant that there was a friend or a member of the family, who you're never going to see again. Sue practically didn't know the man at all, but for Jack it was another thing. It was a very strange kind of bond, but after so much time spent together there was no way for one not to form, and Hudson actually considered him a friend, even though it wasn't the most usual friendship, the fact that he owed so much to him put aside.

"I was thinking... Perhaps you'd like for us to visit your parents on our way to Wisconsin..?" he asked, when they started heading back to the car, and she was a little surprised by his question.

"Wait a moment... The only possibility for us to stop in Ohio on our way is to _drive _to Wisconsin, and you must be crazy to suggest it! Do you realise how long it would take? Remember, that we will have our _two years old_ daughter with us!"

"I know very well how long it takes to drive between the two places, and I am aware that it is going to be a difficult ride and if it was up to me, I'd say that plane is better but we don't really have a choice, Sue. That's one of those things that the FBI is adamant about, we should go by car because it would leave no actual evidence where we went, and I have to admit that they have a point. Nobody would be able to know where we went unless they followed us, and we are going to be escorted to the border of West Virginia and Ohio."

"I just don't see it, but if we really have no choice..." she shook her head, unable to imagine travelling such a distance with Emily in the back seat, who, what she knew from experience, would want or need a stop very often. "Anyway, I guess we could stop at my hometown in Ohio... I'm not sure if my parents' house is the best idea, though..."

"Oh? Something wrong between you and your mom?" he guessed it was a bit stupid question, as he could see absolutely no other reason why she would say this. She had a very great contact with her father, while there always seemed to appear something to make her quarrel with her mother, when they were seeing each other. He didn't, however, expect to hear what he did, when she named the actual reason for their latest fight. "I'm not sure I understand. You mean, _I _am the reason why you had an argument with her?"

"Yes... She wasn't very pleased to learn that we got married... I guess, she was more pissed about the way we did it than the fact that we did, but still... She got over it, but the conviction that you left because you didn't care enough for me to do everything to stay stuck in her head and when I found out that I was pregnant with Emily it got even worse..."

"I have to agree with her that I should have done everything to stay with you... I shouldn't have allowed you to convince me to go but I thought that perhaps you are right and this way, I could kill two birds with one stone – be with you and keep my job... If I could turn the time back, I would have never done what I had..."

"If I had known that it was going to turn out this way, I would have never suggested it..." she sighed, and felt him squeeze his hand.

"Well, there is nothing we can do now and we should be grateful we're together now and have another chance to make it the way it should be."

"Yeah... Still, I'm not convinced that going to my parents is the best idea... My mom isn't pleased that I am back with you, but I guess the best way to change her mind might be showing her that she's wrong about you... And we probably should do it for Emily... Who knows how long we won't be able to travel anywhere, and I guess they should have a chance to spend some time with her... And there is always Bill living close, I'm sure he'd understand if we suddenly appeared on his doorstep knowing, that we were at my parents'..."

"It's settled then. I'm sure it will be fine."

Sue wasn't convinced, but didn't say a word. She had a bad feeling about it and could only hope he was right.


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: **I hope you are going to enjoy this update, and the fact that it appeared so quickly :) I'm glad you're enjoying my story and your reviews mean a lot to me :) I had to fight with FF to bring it to you, and I hope everything will be okay with it.

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The time to leave came quickly, too quickly for their liking. Saying goodbye to their friends was much more difficult than they could even imagine, and didn't happen the way they thought it would. Yes, they certainly didn't expect a goodbye party, when all three of them arrived at Bobby and Darcy's place, but when Manning let them in, they noticed all of their friends gathered in a room. Most of them they have already visited and said goodbye to a little earlier, during their trip around their houses. They only went to visit Amanda and her father before arriving there, and it seemed that their friends used this time to get to Crash's apartment before them. They noticed Lucy, chatting with Troy in sign language, while his wife, Cheryl was talking to Darcy, holding Elliot in her arms. Myerses were the only ones they didn't have a chance to see that afternoon, as they found their house empty and it seemed that they were there, helping to prepare the small party. Tara was chatting with her fiancé, while Charlie got the doubtful honour of listening to one of Myles' always knowledgeable lectures.

"Emy!" Elliot's happy squeal was heard seconds after the Hudsons stepped inside and the boy wriggled his way out of his mother's arms, making her place him on the floor.

He immediately ran to Emily and dragged her to the place in the room, where his blocks were lying. Whenever she knew that there were no children where they were going to, his mother always took toys for him to play with, and the fact that along with Emily, they could spend hours occupied with blocks, she packed them. There was a difference of three months in age between them and they got along pretty well, spending a lot of time together as Cheryl was looking after Emy when Sue was working. Sue was really grateful as Emily didn't really want to stay alone with people she didn't know very well, and it was yet another reason why Mrs. Myers suggested this arrangement. She was a writer what meant that she didn't have any regular working hours, and spending time together could only work for children's advantage. She also knew that the financial side of hiring a babysitter wouldn't be that great for Sue, and it was why she never even thought about taking a cent for it. It was enough for her that it allowed her to pay the debt she and Troy felt they had towards her, as they might have never met if it wasn't for her. It was only three months ago that it changed, when her father passed away and they went to her hometown not only to attend funeral, but to give some support to her mother, who took it very badly.

Now they came back and it was a huge surprise for them to see what they missed when they were away. They definitely didn't expect they'll learn that Jack was alive and back with his girls, but it was definitely a very positive surprise. It was absolutely obvious that the two belonged together, and she believed that the way they so easily fell into the image of a small, happy family was a good evidence of it, as well as the happy sparks in Sue's eyes, which they didn't have a chance to see in a long time and which were now back in their place. They didn't know details about the whole situation, only that Sue and Jack were going away for an unspecified period of time, and they couldn't tell them where they were going or have any contact with them. They weren't happy, just like neither one of the rest of people gathered in the room wasn't, but at least they were going to have each other there and for Cheryl it was enough to accept it.

Nobody wanted the evening to come, as it meant that what they weren't looking forward to was going to come. Sue knew she was going to cry yet again, saying goodbye to all the people she cared about so much and who were such an important part of her life. She was going to miss them terribly and was absolutely unable to stop tears from falling, when she was hugging all of them and they told her how much they hoped for them to see each other again soon. It was breaking her heart to think that she wasn't going to hear a smallest thing from any of them. She just couldn't imagine how it was going to be without them; every single one of them was special and had the traits, which were unique for them and made her love them. She wasn't the only one to cry, all the women did, and even though they were fighting it, guys were on the edge of tears, too. Everyone could swear they saw Myles wipe the drop from his cheek, and the only ones who didn't really understand it all were the kids. Sue and Jack didn't hide from Emily that they were going away, but they were pretty certain that she didn't understand the whole meaning behind it and felt like they were simply going for holidays. It was pretty obvious she didn't really understand the whole fuss around her, when everyone were saying goodbyes and crying.

"Mommy wants a hug?" she asked, when they arrived back at their apartment to spend the last night there before leaving.

Sue managed to regain her composure at least a little, but it was still obvious that she was extremely sad when she was sitting on the couch. She didn't want to go, but there was nothing she could do about it. She jumped slightly, when Emily climbed onto her lap and cuddled to her and she wrapped her arms around the girl, holding her tightly against herself. Soon she felt Jack wrap his arm around her and pull them to himself. She leaned to the side, placing her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Yes, she definitely didn't think it was going to be that hard, and in the morning, when the agents who were chosen to escort them arrived she managed to hold her tears only to the moment when she got into the car. She looked through the window, at Bobby standing outside of the building, who came to collect the keys to her place as they agreed he would on the previous evening and salty drops flowed down her cheeks again. She turned her head to him, when she felt Jack catch and squeeze her hand.

"I know, I should get a grip on myself..." she sighed, but he only repeated the gesture a little harder.

"We're going to be back before we realise." he said, even though he couldn't really know if it was true, and definitely not that it was going to turn out that he was quite wrong.

He started the engine of the car and soon they began their journey to Ohio. They didn't leave DC a long time earlier, when he noticed that Sue fell asleep and when he glanced in the rear-view mirror, he noticed that Emily was dozing off as well, watching the views outside the car. He turned on the radio, feeling strange with a complete silence in the car, careful not to make it too loud. He was driving a longer time without a break, not really needing one, and only stopped at the first petrol station when they crossed the border of Ohio. He didn't really know where he should head next, as he has never been to Sue's hometown and didn't really know where exactly it was located. Also, Emily stirred, informing him that she needed the toilet so he just stopped the car, locked it and took her into the building and when Sue woke up she found them gone.

Panic started to rise inside her, but then she noticed the door to the station open and Jack walked out, holding their sleepy daughter's hand. A small smile managed to make its way onto her face, just like it always did whenever she was looking at the two together, and Emily's ruffled hair was only adding cuteness to the sight.

"Did I sleep long?" she asked, getting out of the car as well, when her husband noticed she was awake and opened it. "Where we actually are?"

"Ohio, that's the most accurate information I can give you." he said and her eyes bulged out.

"Already? That's impossible!" but then she caught a glimpse of watch on his wrist and realised that indeed, quite a long time has passed since they left DC. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"What for? We just crossed the border, then Emily wanted a stop and I thought that I can make a break here and then wake you up. You want to drive or should I continue?"

"It would be better if I drive, you need to rest."

"You're exaggerating, I'm fine. But let it be your way, because you are the one to know where we're going now." he leaned closer and kissed her cheek.

"How it is that we're going to _my _parents and it seems that _I _am the nervous one here?" she asked walking a little around the car to stretch her legs, while Jack was trying to find sandwiches. He dug them out of the bag and gave one to Emily, sitting in the backseat of the car with her legs hanging over the side thanks to the open door.

"I met them during their visit to DC, so I know who to expect. Besides, you worry about the way your mother is going to act, and while I would like for her to see that I love you and Emily more than anything, your feelings matter more to me than hers."

"Yeah, but I don't want to quarrel with her... And I want her to see that she is wrong and I did the right thing, but I'm afraid she's too stubborn to even try..." she sighed and cuddled to him, when she felt him wrap his arms around her "Whenever I go home or my parents come with visit, I feel like I'm back in high school..."

"You simply want it all to go well and it is perfectly understandable."

About half an hour later they moved forward and it wasn't long before they left the main roads and started heading more directly towards Sue's hometown. Jack has never been to Ohio, and only knew general things about the place she was growing up in but when they reached the town, he had to admit that he immediately took a liking to it. It reminded him a lot of the place he came from. He was so lost in watching the surroundings, that he got surprised when the car suddenly stopped and Sue stated that they reached their destination. He looked ahead at a nice, well-kept family house with a beautiful garden and smiled. He had to admit that it pretty much fitted his imagination of what her family house could look like.

The door opened and they were both surprised, when instead of her parents, they noticed a man in his early forties walk out. Jack immediately guessed it had to be one of Sue's brothers. He was slightly taller than Jack, of similar built with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was grinning widely and immediately pulled his sister into a tight hug, when she got out of the car.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in San Francisco?" she asked, and the man chuckled.

"It's been ages since I've seen my little sister and my favourite niece, and I thought it might be a good opportunity to see you two." his eyes moved to Emily, eying him curiously while standing behind her mother. "My goodness, how much she grew up! I guess you don't remember me, do you?" Emily hid more behind Sue, when he crouched in front of her and all adults laughed. "I guess she needs time. And you must be the famous Jack, who my sister managed to keep secret from her brothers for such a long time and I have never had the pleasure to meet. Bill Thomas." he extended his hands towards Hudson, who shook it.

"Jack Hudson." he suspected that he might have a chance to meet Sue's brothers, but he didn't think it would happen so quickly upon arriving. Still, he was pleasantly surprised by Bill's attitude towards him, as he actually expected it to be at least a little hostile.

"Come on, let's go inside before Mom and Dad get impatient!"

Jack squeezed Sue's hand before wrapping his arm around her and the three Hudsons slowly followed the man into the house. The moment they stepped inside they noticed Sue's father standing in the anteroom, obviously waiting for them.

"Grandpa!"

Emily immediately ran to him, and the man caught her into his arms and lifted from the ground in the way which made her squeal. He sat her on his hip and reached out his other arm. Sue stepped closer to him and he hugged her tightly as well.

"Hi, Dad." she smiled, moving away and Peter's eyes landed on Jack.

Hudson felt awkward, not sure what he should say or do. He had no idea what was in the older man's mind and he felt horribly uncomfortable. He knew very well that Sue was dad's daughter and the man was very protective over her. Should he apologize for making her suffer or he knew that there was nothing Jack could do to make it all different after he went onto this assignment? He was a little taken aback by Peter taking a few steps towards him and extending his hand, pretty much the same way his son did earlier.

"It's good to see you again, Jack." he smiled, shaking Jack's hand after he took it.

Just in that moment Carla came to the anteroom from the other side, greeting her daughter and granddaughter. She glanced at Jack for a short moment, before looking away and acting like he wasn't even in the room. Sue, Emily and Bill immediately followed her and Jack sighed with relief. Judging by Sue's behaviour, he expected some kind of outburst, so he thought that no acknowledgment of his person was actually a good reaction. When he heard a chuckle, and glanced at Sue's father he got sure that he was right.

"Give her some time, she'll get over it." he stated and gestured for him to follow the rest.

Jack nodded, and felt quite relieved. Even though he tried not to show it to an overly worried Sue, he was a little afraid of meeting with her parents after all that has happened. It went way better than he thought it would.


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: **It took me a little longer to update this time, but here we go. Thanks for reading, and also for reviewing - it is really nice to know your feeling about the chapters ;) Hope you'll enjoy! :)

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Two days passed and so far, Sue could call it the best visit at her parents' house since she moved out to DC. Much to the surprise of Peter Thomas, his wife and daughter not only haven't argued about anything but seemed to get along pretty well. He even wondered if it wasn't the calm before the storm, which was just waiting for the good moment to come. On the other hand, he could see only one reason capable of making it come – the black-haired man, who was now in the backyard with his wife and daughter. Carla, however, instead of trying to reason with Sue why she shouldn't be with him, decided to watch the man carefully and judge his feelings towards Sue and Emily before saying anything about him. Everyone could see her attitude to him changing, and even though she was far from being so warm and open towards him as she was when they first met, she wasn't completely ignoring him. She wasn't entirely convinced that it was a good idea, and she was afraid he was going to bring troubles, but just like anyone watching him with his two girls, she could see that he indeed loved them very much.

"It's been a while since we last saw Susie so happy and carefree..." he said to her, when she stood next to him, as they were watching the three through the window.

"Yes... It's good to see her this way again..."

She smiled and drifted off in her thoughts, her eyes never leaving the scene outside the house. Perhaps Sue was right, and giving this man a second change was the right thing to do. He brought back this part of her daughter, which disappeared along with him and nobody, not even Emily, was able to make it return. If someone didn't know that the two were apart for so long, that he only met this little girl few months ago, they would never suspect it upon seeing them. They looked like a perfect little family, like it was this way forever. Obviously, it was meant to be this way and they all could only pray for it to never change.

Bill stepped into the room right about the same time, and smiled at the sight. It was good to see, that in the end his mother listened to him. He was never going to admit it to anyone, but he asked her to give Jack a chance to prove himself before she judged him. He knew his little sister well enough to know, that even though she had her moments of being naive, that she always tried to see only good in people, she guarded her heart much stronger than one would think. She would never give it all to someone, who she wasn't absolutely certain was a good person and Jack Hudson owned it completely. He had no doubts that deep in her heart Carla knew it as well, but his mother always had this tendency to think she knew what was good for Sue better than Sue herself, and it often blinded her to the facts. Right now, however, she seemed to see what he hoped they all would and he was happy that he wasn't wrong in his assumptions.

"For the first time in years, I don't feel like I can't wait to go home and we have to leave tomorrow evening..." Sue sighed, sitting on the grass, with her back leaning against the tree. She deliberately sat opposite to Jack, who held their napping daughter against himself; she really loved the image and it was more adorable only when the man was asleep as well. Levi was lying next to her, with his head placed on her lap enjoying the little bit of her attention he was getting, while she was scratching him behind his ears.

"I wish I could say we can stay longer, but you know it's impossible... It was difficult enough to convince the FBI to let us make such a long stop here... We wouldn't want to annoy them..." he reached out one of his arms and took her hand in his, squeezing it. "It's going to be okay, Sue. The time will pass quicker than you think, and soon we'll be making a stop here on our way back."

"On our way back, I'm taking a plane. There's been two days, and I still feel the few-hours nap on the front seat in my back... I'm pretty sure Emily will want to fly, too... But if you want to drive, I'm certain Levi will be happy to join you, considering how much he dislikes planes..." she grinned at him playfully.

"Ha, ha, ha." he narrowed his eyes, looking at her and she stuck out her tongue at him. "Right now you're lucky I have Emy here, but I will get you."

"I hate to interrupt, but they're going to be here soon."

Jack turned around to look at the house, and when Sue's eyes followed she noticed her brother standing in the door. She didn't have to ask her husband to repeat what the man said, because there was no other reason for him to come other than to remind them that her two other brothers with families were coming for dinner, and at the same time small family gathering. It was a rare occasion for all the children of Carla and Peter to be in Ohio at the same time, with Bill in San Francisco, Jimmy in Chicago and Sue in DC. Only Paul stayed closer, living with his wife and two children on the other side of the town. Sue missed her brothers very much, she always loved their meeting when they were all together, but this time her youngest older brother wasn't going to be there, or at least that was what she was convinced about. It was a huge surprise for her, when Bill, like a little boy, announced they were coming and she glanced through the window to see two of her brothers with their families walking towards the house. She had no idea, that the moment Paul heard that his sister and older brother were coming to his parents, he called Jimmy and suggested for to come as well. They all agreed, that they were going to make Sue a surprise, because even though she didn't tell them anything – and they knew that there was no sense to ask – they knew, that it might be a while before they were going to see her again. Judging by her face expression, they knew that it worked.

Hudson watched the family greet each other, holding Emily in his arms. It's been a while since she saw her uncles, and even though Bill managed to reach her, Paul didn't really have the chance because the last week was very busy for him and they didn't even have a chance to pay him a visit, as he spent practically whole day at work, coming back home at a late hour in the evening. Jimmy arrived just on the previous day, and from what Sue told him, they didn't see each other for quite a while and Emily didn't really remember or recognize most of the people, who came. Being the shy girl, who wasn't very open to people she didn't know well, she just clung to her dad and the two observed the rest talking happily. Jack remembered Sue telling him that Paul was the only one of her brothers, who was truly similar to their mother; Bill, Jimmy and her took their looks way more after their father, with the exception of the eyes, because Sue's were the only ones, which had the same hazel colour as Peter's. Soon it was time for him and Emy to be noticed, and he was greeted warmly by most of them. The only exception was Jimmy, who he could feel treated him with the same cold attitude as Carla but in contrary to her, didn't remain silent.

"So, you're the guy who captured my sister's heart, knocked her up and left for almost three years in belief that he's dead, shattering her heart to pieces?" he asked, looking at him with a hostile gaze in his eyes.

"Jimmy!" gasped Sue in disbelief, looked at the man with shock mixed with anger.

"What? You're going to deny any of this happened? All he had to do was show up, and you've already forgotten everything? I'm simply calling a spade a spade, Sue. He left once, he's going to do this again, and I'm actually surprised you can be so naive."

He walked away from them, while she stared at him as if he has just grew another head. She didn't know that nobody actually told him that Jack was going to be there and he just reacted, but it didn't change the fact that she believed he didn't have the right to treat her husband this way. Everyone was standing in silence and the awkwardness was starting to become overwhelming. Bill was the first one to rally, and followed his brother out of the house while the rest simply went to the dining room, where the table was almost ready. Only the Hudsons remained where they were. Sue turned around and went to the window, trying to calm herself before they were going to join the rest. Jack sat Emily on the couch, the girl now feeling much more comfortable with only her parents in the room, and was watching the two adults, not really understanding what was going on, even though she could feel that her mommy was upset. Sparky stopped right behind her, placing his hands on her arms and placing a gentle kiss on the back of her head. It took only a moment for her to turn around and look at him.

"Obviously, it was all going too good and something like this had to happen, I thought it's going to be my mom, though... On the other hand, he did inherit a lot of our mom's traits and even though I had no idea he was going to be there, I should have expected it when I noticed him... I'm sorry..."

"Sue..! There is no need for you to be sorry!" he spoke, after he cupped her face, lifting her head slightly and making sure she was looking at him. "I can't say that I wasn't expecting such an attitude from your whole family... From what they know, and they can't be told everything, this is exactly what I did and if I was on their place, I would blame myself as well. It was a nice surprise to see, that most of them either share this wonderful heart of yours or decided to give me a chance, and you shouldn't be angry at your brother. He's just protective, and he doesn't want you to be hurt."

"Funny, considering that I feel hurt by what he did." he leaned closer and placed a loving, lingering kiss on her forehead before he spoke again.

"And I just plan to prove him, that he doesn't know me at all. I am not leaving, no matter what, and he will see that I will be there, always. I think it's the best, and perhaps only way I can show him that he is wrong..."

Sue just sighed, but he knew it meant that she agreed with him. He pulled her to himself, holding her against his chest and soon felt her wrap her arms around him, nestling into his embrace. It wasn't long before he felt tugging on his sleeve and looked down to see Emily, standing right beside them.

"Huggy?" she asked, lifting her arms so he was going to pick her up. Sue and Jack both smiled, exchanging glances and she took the girl into her arms before he wrapped his arms around them both, holding them close.

They had no idea, that in the very same moment Carla stepped into the room to call them for dinner. A small smile made its way onto her face at the scene in front of her, and instead of interrupting, she turned around and silently walked back to the rest of the family. Yes, it seemed she was wrong about this man, and not for the first time she was happy that her daughter decided not to listen to her.


End file.
